The Cycle of Forgiveness
by poknn
Summary: A portrayal of how Sasuke copes with his trauma and sins from the past. In another lifetime, he finds he could have been a great jutsu teacher. Time travel Canon divergent fic, starts with angst, but morphs into adventure. Major Team 7 friendship buldings, highly Sasuke-centric, maybe eventual Sasusaku. Post-war, repentant Sasuke! Genjutsu Sakura! Strong Team 7!
1. Prologue

Sasuke was tired. The constant reminders of his failures, coupled with the sheer overload of horrors from battles he had partaken during his lifetime, culminated in a sense of weariness and fatigue that made him yearn for the sweet release of death. The only thing that managed to prevent him from taking his own life was a combination of disgust and guilt at the pivotal role he had played in all the troubles that plagued the shinobi world. He had always rationalize the events around him – the massacre, Itachi's sacrifice and the corruption of Konoha's elders – through the lens of retribution. Invariably this had led to him taking matters in his own hand, but in hindsight, killing Itachi and Danzo, and almost killing Naruto did nothing to ease the anguish he felt. If possible, he found himself even more despondent after every such act, and found that he needed to single-mindedly focus on another aim, to redirect his anger to another source, to prevent the feeling of repentance and guilt from flowing over. After the fourth Shinobi war, however, when all revenge was put to rest, and the world united under the dobe's optimism, the weariness started to creep in. 'The old Sage gave me the biggest punishment', Sasuke often thought with a wry smile, as he would ever so often open his Rinnegan during his subsequent wanderings. At first, that reasoning seemed absurd – how could having the most powerful dojutsu in history be a burden? But as he slowly adjusted to his new Visual Prowess abilities, Sasuke became keenly aware that the Rinnegan seemed to supplement his mood, and thinking about his mistakes amplified the guilt of every action he had done over his lifetime. It did not help that he could see even the most minute chakra fluctuations in other people, and he had learnt to identify the spike of dread which shot through every other person he came in contact with on his sojourn.

As time went by in his "journey of atonement" (although this may have been a misnomer because most people rarely showed any inclination to forgive him), Sasuke finally found himself back at the Hokage's door with the members of the original Team 7. Kakashi seemed his old stoic self, although the lack of the usual twinkle in his eyes betrayed sleepless nights and stress of being responsible for the village's safety, Sakura was polite and friendly as always, but Sasuke could clearly see she was putting up a forced façade for old time's sake. Even the dobe, having been bogged down in his Hokage preparation studies, was less ebullient than usual.

"So, is the post-war reconstruction able to progress despite your laziness, Kakashi?"

"Ma ma Sasuke, there is no need to insult your sensei just after returning. I'm working at a record speed to clear all the paperwork for approvals required for all forms of reconstruction."

"Yeah right, _record time_ for you is looking at a few forms every once in a while when you finish a chapter of _Icha-Icha_," Sakura interjected. "How are you doing, Sasuke-kun?"

"Fine" was all Sasuke could bring himself to say. For some reason, meeting Sakura after two years brought back his regret in full force. Memories of the night by the bench when he had left, the meeting at the Land of Iron, and the terrible genjutsu he forced her to experience at the end of the war, hit him like a freight train and seemed to keep playing and replaying in his mind. His thoughts were shortly interrupted by Naruto, who poked him hard on his left shoulder and said, "Aww cmon, teme, a little more information, please? Did you help a lot of people? How much progress have you made while I've been getting rusty with all these books?" As was his nature, Sasuke could not bite back his retort of "How else can a dobe even think of becoming a Hokage?", but found himself fascinated by the maturity and seriousness present on Naruto's face. The face of a capable and fearless leader, which showed the optimism of the coming era. The one who lead the next generation of shinobi into a world bereft of war and violence. At this moment, Sasuke's mind reminded him that he was the sole reason that Naruto lost his right arm, just because he had a twisted sense of changing the Kage system and eliminating the Tailed Beasts. As the four old comrades laughed and talked and reminisced (at least three spoke, while the fourth responded with grunts and short syllables), Sasuke realized that he really did not belong in this new order of things. He was a man who could not escape the demons of his past, try as he might, and one who could not really care deeply for Konoha (outside of his former team). Naruto was naïve, how else could one believe that keeping the Tailed Beasts free among the hidden villages would actually prevent the previous cycle of war from repeating? Even if Naruto could keep the peace under his reign, there was no guarantee the status quo would be maintained by future Kages. Of course, this was when Sasuke's mind veered him away from this dangerous line of thought, and he stiffly nodded as Naruto just finished sharing a story of how he had slept through one of the history lessons required in his Hokage training, and Sakura started excitedly speaking about her efforts to open a children's hospital in each shinobi village. Sometime during the meeting, Sasuke abruptly asked Kakashi if it was ok that he stay in the village for a few weeks in the Uchiha complex, to which he received a perplexed "yes"; all three of them were more than surprised that Sasuke would want to return to living in the neglected district instead of an apartment. After that, the conversation slowly but surely died down to a slightly tense atmosphere, which was eventually dispersed with Naruto exclaiming that he was late for a fuuinjutsu class, and Kakashi groaned about having more paperwork to do. That left Sasuke and Sakura, and to his own surprise, Sasuke found himself offering to walk her home.

One of the major improvements in Sasuke's character during his travels was the uptick in his social interactions. He had become better at expressing his feelings or offering help to others, and wasn't as hesitant to speak up as before. As he walked with Sakura in silence, the horrific memories of their past kept swirling incessantly within him. Immediately, he closed his Rinnegan and took a deep breath before whispering, "I'm sorry."

"What was that, Sasuke-kun?"

"Nothing, I'm just tired. How much farther to your place?"

"Oh it's just a few minutes away. But Sasuke-kun, you don't appear to be alright. Please, tell me what's wrong."

Looking at those viridian eyes whose sparkle had been dulled by the immense burden Sakura had carried over the years (which he knew he was to blame for) seemed to accentuate the guilt brewing within. Unable to keep it within, he softly proclaimed, "I will be leaving soon."

There wasn't any noticeable change in her features, just a slight hardening in her gaze. Again the forced façade, which had eased in the slightest during the flow of their conversation, was back in full force. "Ah, I see. Well then, I hope you enjoy your journey, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke found that she had not realized the magnitude of his decision. "No, Sakura, I will not be going on a journey anywhere. I will just be gone."

Her eyes widened a bit and chakra flared in confusion, "What does that mean?"

At that moment, Sasuke felt the need to tell her so much. How he had wrestled with the bad decisions taken in his life, how he had convinced himself to remain alive just because three people in the world cared and how he had planned on spending the rest of his life striving to keep those three people happy. But he had found that showing repentance was a far cry from actually obtaining forgiveness, and that it takes more than a lifetime to come to terms with one's sins. Most of all, he wanted to tell her how sorry he was for inflicting despair and trauma of the highest degree on her in exchange for her unwavering belief in his 'goodness'. Instead, he ran his hand through his hair and rolled up his sleeves to show her his wrist littered with slashes and said, "It means I will be going home to Itachi and Okaa-san soon."

* * *

News of Sasuke's suicidal tendencies spread soon and fast to the Hokage, and he was soon placed under the careful watch of a half-a-dozen ANBU. 'Tch, I wonder what the old man gains by trying to hide them,' Sasuke thought, as he opened his Rinnegan for a moment and was immediately flooded by chakra signals emanating from the guards. He knew he shouldn't have told Sakura of his impending death, but figured that the least he could do was to prevent another shock to her system on his account. Over the next couple of months, he barely ever left the Uchiha Manor, except to buy some bare minimal supplies necessary for sustenance. The dobe had made it a point to visit at least once a day, sometimes dragging Kakashi with him (during his official "breaks" from paperwork), and his incessant ramblings about ramen and being Hokage started to grate on Sasuke's nerves. Often he would lash out, but often he would find himself enjoying the familiar sound of his best friend's chatter. Sakura would also visit, albeit less frequently, but would try her best to cheer him up with stories of her success in the hospital, be it through her successful treatments or her fast-track promotions. He was amazed at her progress, and extremely proud of her accomplishments, and even told her as such during one of those days. Sakura had been shocked at that compliment, and could only mumble a hurried thanks along with a statement about how she couldn't have done it without teachers like Tsunade and friends. Around the three month stage, it seemed that he had settled into a routine of self-imposed house arrest notwithstanding the visits by his former team, and rarely, the other members of the Rookie Nine.

* * *

"Why don't you come out and have fun, teme?" asked Naruto one day as he lounged about in the dining room as Sasuke was cooking dinner for his two former teammates. "Yeah, Sasuke-kun, why don't you take a mission?" Sakura chimed in. At this suggestion, Naruto immediately perked up – "Yes! We could all do a mission together – it'll be like the old Team 7 dattebayo!" From the corner of his eyes, Sasuke saw Sakura stiffen slightly – he understood only too well that she did not, could not trust him to the extent required between mission partners – and she quickly said, "I might have to pass as I barely get free time from the hospital." Instantly the atmosphere tensed up, with Naruto and Sakura exchanging glances, but Sasuke acted as if nothing had happened as he kept stirring the pot and slicing vegetables. After a few minutes he finally spoke up, "I am no longer a shinobi. So you don't really need to worry about having me as a mission partner." Stunned silence met his proclamation – which only served as the calm before the storm of questions which followed.

"What does that even mean?" demanded Naruto.

"It simply means what I said dobe – I will not fight again."

"But Sasuke-kun, how can you give up the life of a shinobi? You're one of the two strongest shinobi, and Konoha needs your skills to remain safe."

"Unfortunately I can't help with that, Sakura."

"Why not teme? Too scared that I'll beat you?"

"That's not the reason dobe; I can spar with you once in a while, but I am never fighting again."

"Why not Sasuke-kun? Give us a good reason."

At the repeated questioning, Sasuke felt the remnants of his subdued anger start flaring up again. "Why not?" he started angrily, "Because Danzo and the elders murdered each and every family member I ever had, the village put innocent blood on Itachi's hands and then disgraced him for their own selfish purposes, the civilians here spit on the Uchiha name." As he kept speaking, his voice became more mellow, "but the bigger reason is the harm I have caused all of you. I have thought considerably about the role a monster like me can possibly have in this world, and I see none, so I want to fade away as quickly as possible."

Naruto looked stricken, while Sakura had large eyes full of unshed tears, and Sasuke found a hint of amusement at the familiar situation. 'What a dysfunctional team we are, but I'm the one who always brings grief to these two,' he thought, and this thought spurred him to explain himself a little more clearly. "Do you see me, Naruto? Sakura? My memories of the past haunt me every single waking minute of my life, I can barely sleep, and my Rinnegan prevents me from ignoring the fear and hatred people show at the mere sight of me. I believe my biggest form of atonement would be to never use a jutsu or my Visual Prowess in battle again."

A lengthy silence ensued, and Sasuke got back to cooking. As he was serving them his tomato lentil soup, Naruto blurted out, "Do you think you can stop yourself from being a shinobi? I mean, that's what you've been your entire life." And after hearing Naruto say that, Sasuke wasn't really sure he could.

* * *

Exactly seven months after his return, the bombshell hit Konoha – Sasuke Uchiha had gone missing. More like he had vaporized – or vanished into thin air. The ANBU investigators had found every single belonging of Sasuke – clothes, headband and weapons, all neatly arranged in the Uchiha Manor, in keeping with Sasuke's usual tidiness. Even his precious _chokuto_ had been found resting by the bookcase in his bedroom. Predictably, rumors started abounding that the Uchiha once again had betrayed the village. But all speculation was quelled by Naruto, who had been roped in to use his unparalleled sensor skills to track Sasuke, but could not find his chakra signature over any of the elemental nations. Pakkun and the Inazuka hounds had zeroed in on Sasuke's last location as by the lake in the Uchiha district; but it appeared it had been a one-way journey. His scent disappeared at the lake, leaving the investigation with only one conclusion. Predictably, Naruto and Sakura had taken the news hard, but Sasuke's previous hints had at least lessened the blow.

"Ne, Sakura-chan, why do the people who deserve to live die and those who deserve to die live?"

"I don't know, Naruto, I don't know. But I pray to Kami that he finally got the peace he so fully deserved."

Kakashi sighed deeply as he looked at his two former students spiral deeper into despondency. Waves of regret, the likes of which had not hit him since the immediate aftermath of Rin's death, hit him relentlessly. He felt personally responsible, and he wondered (just as he had before Naruto and Sasuke's final fight) about how he had failed as Sasuke's teacher. At the same time, the fact that this had been the anniversary of the Uchiha massacre made him feel slightly nauseous. 'You ensured that all the Uchiha died on this date, didn't you Sasuke?', he thought bitterly. His thoughts were interrupted by Naruto, who once again asked, "Kakashi-sensei, why was it him and not me? I was supposed to share his burdens, dammit!" Glancing at those expressive cerulean eyes, which were usually brimming with unbounded exuberance, now so full of anguish and hurt, along with the companion set of unfocused jade eyes which were swollen and puffy with tears, tore at Kakashi's heart, and it was the first time since they were thirteen year old genin that Kakashi stood up and gave both of them a comforting group hug, each clinging on as if the other was the sole anchor to any of sort of sanity in their terrible reality.

The funeral that followed in Sasuke's honor was splashed throughout the news broadcast and would be remembered for years to come with the striking image of Naruto and Sakura, Konoha's (and indeed, the world's) strongest ninja and kunoichi respectively, arm-in-arm, unable to hold back their tears, while Kakashi, the Rokudaime Hokage, unsuccessfully tried his best to keep his nonchalant facade from crumbling.


	2. Chapter 1

The first thing he noticed when he woke up with a start was that he was still missing his left arm. Afraid to open his eyes to whatever hell he had been sent to, Sasuke first tried to organize his thoughts clearly and calm himself down. He remembered the events from last night clearly. He had gone to sit at the edge of the lake where Otou-san had taught him his Katon jutsu, as he usually did every other day. That was when his mind had (rather unhelpfully) reminded him of the day of the Massacre, and he had visibly flinched, because the images he could see were different from other memories, and way more real. It was an exact replica of the Tsukuyomi Itachi had forced him to endure twice before, except now he could make out the chakra fluctuations of every single person before they were murdered by Itachi and Tobi. When he saw the swirling of sadness and pain in his parents' chakra, something had snapped within him and he had unknowingly activated the Naraka path with his Rinnegan. Having summoned the huge figure of the King of Hell with his gaping mouth, he had harshly demanded that he take his soul and grant him the sweet release of death. When the King of Hell tried to explain that as his Summon, he could not do that as they both shared Rinnegan eyes, Sasuke had countered that Summons were forced to obey their masters, and in no uncertain terms had commanded the King to kill him. Instantly he had been blinded by a flash of white light and had felt his consciousness slipping away. The last thing he could remember before waking up was being so very happy that finally he would be joining Itachi and his parents.

Having oriented himself with his thoughts, Sasuke started focusing on his surroundings, and was surprised by the sound of harsh knocking on a door. 'Are there doors in the afterlife?' he wondered as he finally opened his eyes. What greeted him was a familiar sensation in his eyes. His right eye felt just like before, but it seemed the left Rinnegan eye had followed him to the afterlife. Or to a place which looked suspiciously like his room when had been in Sound with Orochimaru. His mind immediately went into overdrive at this highly unexpected turn of events. He had the Rinnegan, so he was immune to any genjutsu – which meant that either the King of Hell had thrown him back in time, or to the Elemental nations in a parallel world. Either was equally possible. By the time he was absorbing the magnitude of what had happened, he heard Kabuto's slick voice on the other side of the door. "Orochimaru-sama, we have been knocking on Sasuke-kun's door to summon him as per your request, but we haven't heard a sound for the past ten minutes. Should we see if anything has happened to him?"

"Hmm that is unlike Sasuke-kun. Alright, let us check."

Sasuke barely had time to dive under his blanket to hide his eyes by the time the door clicked open. "Are you feeling unwell, Sasuke-kun?" came Orochimaru's velvety voice. "Then maybe Kabuto here can take a look. After all, you have a mission coming up, and you cannot be in anything but the best shape for it." Remembering Kabuto's treatments made a shiver run through Sasuke's spine, but he managed to answer Orochimaru in his usual confident style "No, there is no need. I'm just feeling a little tired and need some rest." Sasuke was secretly hoping that Orochimaru would be satisfied and leave him alone, but that hope quickly evaporated when he sensed that they were still in his room after a few minutes.

"Did you want anything else?" he spat out.

There was a pause for a few seconds before Orochimaru replied in a slightly amused voice, "My, my, Sasuke-kun, no need to be so dismissive. I just wanted to brief you on tomorrow's mission. Will you meet me at my throne room in a few minutes? I promise I won't keep you from bed." With that, there were a series of retreating footfalls and Sauke breathed a sigh of relief. He had a few minutes to hide his Rinnegan and cover up his missing limb. While rummaging through his spartan closet for clothes, he came across a large black cloak which he remembered he had used as a disguise during a recon mission for Orochimaru on the outskirts of Konoha. Temporarily ignoring the renewed wave of remorse that flooded him at the thought of Konoha, or more specifically, Naruto and Sakura, he realized that he must be at a time period after that mission, which meant he had been away from Konoha for more than a year and a half. Slowly he put on the cloak and carefully bandaged his left eye before heading over to the throne room.

As he expected, there was an uproar in the Sound base as he walked into his meeting with Orochimaru. The "king's court" (as Orochimaru preferred to call it) of advisors and Sound ninja were stunned by the fact that Sasuke had seemingly lost an eye, while Orochimaru had a dangerous frown on his face. "What happened to your eye, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru asked with a deadly edge in his voice. To everyone's (and partly his own) surprise, Sasuke just bowed his head and softly said, "I might have injured it during training. I don't think it is injured heavily, but I will certainly pay Kabuto a visit after our meeting."

Despite having been transferred to a new body in another time, Sasuke had kept his wits about him. He knew better than to rile Orochimaru up without knowing the extent at which his new body operated. Moreover, he knew Kabuto at least stood no chance in the face of a Rinnegan genjutsu, He had to bide his time for a day before he could escape during the so-called mission tomorrow, and before that he could not afford his secret of a missing limb be exposed. Orochimaru, who initially showed a hint of surprise at Sasuke's acquiescence, now had an amused smirk on his lips as he motioned to his minions to leave the two of them alone. "So, playing nice are we, Sasuke-kun? Is it because you want to meet your friends so badly? After all, it may be the last time you get to see them." It was then Sasuke's turn to be surprised, but he barely betrayed any hint of his feelings barring a slight hardening of his features. "Get on with it Orochimaru, I don't have time to make irrelevant chatter."

After a few more ribbings by Orochimaru to get on Sasuke's nerves (which he inwardly admitted was easier to do now that he did not suppress his emotions like he did previously), the former laid out Sasuke's mission details. It was once again a recon mission, but he would have to spy on Naruto and Sakura, who were currently on a mission at the Lightning country on the Raikage's request. It appeared that Naruto had already finished his initial training with Jiraya, and Sakura had trained with Tsunade, so Orochimaru was already salivating at the prospect of the students of the Sannin finally being at the same place, at the same time. At the same time, his sources had informed Orochimaru that the Akatsuki was concurrently making its move to capture the Nine-Tails.

"You absolutely cannot be seen by anyone, do you understand, Sasuke-kun? The only information I need is an idea of what the Raikage is planning, and why he requires Konoha ninja for the mission."

"Hn."

"And of course, I want to know who the Akatsuki is sending to take the Kyuubi, and an account of how your friends fare against them."

"Hn. Is that all?"

"As expressive as ever, Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru said mockingly. "But yes, we are done here – you can catch up on your beauty sleep now."

Of course, with Orochimaru, nothing is straightforward. The moment Sasuke turned his back and made towards the door, there was flash across the room and Sasuke had to use all his ninja instincts acquired over a lifetime to barely dodge the blade of Kusanagi, which would have otherwise fatally wounded his heart.

"What the hell was that for?" growled Sasuke, three tomoes spinning frantically in his right eye as he cursed his stupidity for not bringing any weapons with him. There was no way he could take on Orochimaru with a weapons handicap without exposing his Mangekyo Sharingan or Rinnegan.

"Good, Sasuke-kun, good. I have rarely witnessed such speed from you, although I shouldn't be surprised. Did you take me for a fool? I know that you are hiding something from me. Be a good boy and take off your bandage, and show me your eye." Orochimaru spoke with a glint in his eye.

"And if I refuse?" Sasuke asked, desperately trying to buy some time to think of a way out of this predicament. As Orochimaru readied himself to strike again, Sasuke decided he had to go with the less risky option and show Orochimaru his Mangekyo Sharingan. In a moment, a swirling red and black pinwheel stared back at Orochimaru, and for the first time in a while, Orochimaru stood rooted on the spot, dumbfounded. "Tch, when I felt my Sharingan change to the Mangekyo, my left eye started bleeding intensely, so I bandaged it up for the night to give it some rest," Sasuke said, as anticipation slowly started to bubble within him. He knew that this revelation would make Orochimaru persist to far greater lengths than in his previous life to make Sasuke his vessel.

"My, my, Sasuke-kun, so you got eyes similar to your brother," cackled Orochimaru, "I think a change in plan is in order then. I think you are ready now." With that he immediately sent out a snake to summon Kabuto, and Sasuke knew he was going to try taking his body as a vessel very soon. To Orochimaru, Sasuke was but a half-finished product as of yet, having trained under him for about a year and a half, but nowhere near his level yet. However, the lure of gaining a Mangekyo Sharingan was too strong, and he could not wait any longer. "Don't worry, Sasuke-kun," he maliciously smirked as he backed Sasuke into a corner. "I promise to make good of my promise to help you kill your brother – those eyes will ensure our victory when our combined selves face him."

To even his own surprise, Sasuke found that he wasn't feeling as scared as he thought he should feel – killing the snake once before had bolstered his confidence, he wryly observed, as he decided to wait patiently for the right time to expose his trump card. Making Orochimaru aware of his abilities and fighting him was certainly not a part of any plan (not that he had any real time to think over his circumstances), but Sasuke knew what he had to do now – injure Orochimaru enough to be able to escape. He had thought of running away from Orochimaru's sight and then transporting himself outside the Sound base through a portal using his Rinnegan, but he was unsure that his body could manage to take the immense chakra depletion that followed to proceed onto Kumo, where it seemed Naruto and Sakura were currently located. His best bet to escape was to take the bull by its horns, and currently he favored his chances.

There's not much to say about the fight that followed, for it ended as swiftly as it began. Having the element of surprise on his side, Sasuke had distracted Orochimaru with a huge fireball from his Katon jutsu before flickering right in front of him and using Amaterasu to envelope his entire body. It was at this instant that Kabuto had arrived, so Sasuke made sure to get some of the black flames on the medic as well, before taking to his heels, leaving behind the screams of two people writhing about in shock and pain. Taking out the series of lackeys outside effortlessly with an elementary genjutsu, Sasuke managed to stop by his room to gather his Kusanagi chokuto and some shuriken and kunai. Thanking his lucky stars that Orochimaru was unaware of the capabilities of his Mangekyo (which was the main reason his gamble paid off), Sasuke was out of the meandering pathways of the Sound Base in a few minutes. He knew that Orochimaru and Kabuto would come out unscathed from the attack (Kabuto was a genius at medical ninjutsu, after all) and double down on recapturing him very soon, but he did not let those thoughts stick. After all, it felt great to be a free man again after all this time.

Moving through the trees towards Kumo, with the scent of the Earth filling his senses and the sound of the wind mixed with the chirping of birds, Sasuke was filled with a sense of familiarity and peace. He realized that subconsciously he had missed the freedom to travel ever since he had returned to Konoha. Carefully removing his eyepatch, he allowed his Rinnegan to open, and fill his senses with chakra emanating from every living thing around him. With some time left before he reached the dobe's location, he started to think about his role in this world. He definitely did not want to pursue revenge anymore, because the deaths of Itachi and Danzo had not provided him with the inner peace and fulfillment he yearned. A small part kept reminding him that Itachi was still alive, albeit sick, and that he could save him. But a competing part clearly recalled the haggard expression of the man on his deathbed, eyes flashing with incomprehensible guilt at wiping out those dearest to his heart, which slowly turned to unfiltered relief when Sasuke had stabbed him for the final time. 'No, Itachi has to be released from his pain' Sasuke thought, 'even if this time, he will not die by my hand.' His thoughts soon wandered to the other menaces roaming the world – Orochimaru, Danzo, Tobi, Pein, the rest of the Akatsuki, and eventually Madara and Kaguya, all left to be accounted for. But for some reason, he found himself not wanting to stop any of them from running amok. Maybe it was because he did not want to deviate from the timeline activities so that he wouldn't get surprised later, but a large part of him knew that the main reason was because he was no hero, no leader who wanted to save others. In another life he had tried to take things in his hands and had failed miserably. In this life he wanted to keep to himself and protect only the three people who had not shunned him despite his mountain of sins. And that was what he decided to do – realizing that maybe he was not so dispassionate after all. For by protecting Naruto, he would indirectly thwart the goals of the Akatsuki, Madara and prevent Kaguya from reappearing. At the same time, he remembered his promise to the Naruto of the previous world – that he would not fight in battles again. Now he was not so sure about that - defending his three former teammates from danger seemed like the only way forward towards any redemption.

Sasuke was soon interrupted from his thoughts by the appearance of a strong flash of chakra that almost stopped him in his tracks. 'Shit, I should be paying more attention around me,' he thought, as he dodged a powerful roundhouse kick which sent shockwaves that knocked down a couple of trees in its wake.

"Sasuke Uchiha, you have a nerve – roaming so openly in Kumogakure's lands. Does a missing-nin like yourself have a death wish?" came an icy cold voice.

Pulling himself to full height (to his satisfaction he found he was slightly taller than his opponent), Sasuke replied, "I am just passing by. I have no business with you." Looking over, he instantly realized that the chakra emanating from his opponent was that of the Two-Tails, which from prior knowledge meant he was up against one of the two jinchuurikis of Kumo. 'Great,' he thought, remembering his fight with Killer Bee, 'my last meeting with a jinchuuriki from Kumo was not pleasant. I'll have to de-escalate this quickly without arousing suspicions.'

Yugito looked unfazed by his response, but was studiously avoiding the gaze of his mismatched eyes. 'Looks like the reputation of my Sharingan is intact,' thought Sasuke with a smirk. "Be that as it may, I will have to either kill you or arrest you upon sight. So it's your choice if you want to fight or not. Although it would be a waste to lose the last Uchiha so cavalierly," she said, muttering the last statement mostly to herself. Sasuke realized he had to make a tough decision – acquiesce and go with her in chains, or engage in combat. Both options seemed really distasteful, so he replied calmly, "I was on my way to visit the Raikage. I don't mind you accompanying me to him."

His answer seemed to throw off Yugito for a second, but she brushed it off quickly before smirking and producing lightning chakra restraints. "Drop all of your weapons, and I'll put these on." Without a word Sasuke complied, laying down his katana and kunai/shuriken pouch, as Yugito stood by, alert and inwardly shocked. She wondered 'What is he playing at? An S-rank missing nin laying down his weapons – that's unheard of.' Channeling Matabi, she sensed that he was indeed weaponless – so she decided to make her next move. In the flash of an eyelid, she switched into her Two-Tail cloak form and flashstepped before Sasuke with a kunai aimed straight at his throat, when she suddenly felt her consciousness start reducing rapidly, and blackness swiftly overtook her. The next thing she realized was that she was in her mindscape – which took the form of a dimly lit room, with Matabi howling in pain inside her cage. Next to her, she could feel Sasuke's presence.

"How did you do –" she started, but was cut off by the sight of mismatched eyes glowing in the dark. The combination of red and purple was strangely beatific in the darkness, and she slowly found herself unable to continue talking. After a brief silence, Sasuke sighed and spoke, "I have kept my end of the bargain – and I have no wish to hurt either you or the Two Tails. Do you agree to take me to the Raikage?"

After some effort, Yugito managed to shakily reply, "alright, but let me out of this place - and I will take you to the Raikage. The only condition is that I will have to handcuff you."

"Like I said, that won't be a problem. But don't try stunts like that again – after all, you don't have to look directly at me to be under the control of my eyes." Sasuke said, suppressing a smirk at her shock at hearing this new information. And with that, Yugito found herself back in the real world, on her knees, panting. Looking up, she found Sasuke standing a few feet away, seemingly deep in thought. Willing herself to calm down, she slowly approached with her chakra restraints, only to find him extending out a lone arm to be shackled. "What happened to your other arm?" she asked with genuine curiosity. "Nothing much – just got blown off in battle, Sasuke responded offhandedly, but quickly became irritated at her shocked reaction – "are we going to get moving, or are you going to gape at me the entire time?" Yugito could only nod and lead the way, and she moved she was plagued by only one thought, 'how was the Bingo Book so wrong about Sasuke Uchiha? There was no mention of a purple eye, missing limb, and said person certainly did not look overcome by feelings of revenge.' Moreover, she observed, there was not an ounce of killing intent coming from him, another peculiar characteristic one would never associate with a shinobi in enemy territory, much less a S-class missing nin. She fervently hoped that the Raikage would fare better in handling the enigma in front of her.


	3. Chapter 2

Kumo was living upto its name. It had been two hours since the rain had started, and the gathering thunderclouds seemed to portend the upcoming grim encounter between Sasuke and the Raikage. Sasuke was no fool, and knew that the impulsive Kage would brook no S-ranked criminal in his domain. 'Thank Kami the Five Kage summit has yet to occur,' Sasuke thought, as he slowly walked in lockstep behind Yugito. But he was determined to meet Naruto and Sakura, and the Raikage alone could help him locate them. The chakra handcuff which bound him to Yugito was beginning to slightly hurt his lone wrist.

"Can you loosen this restraint?" Sasuke suddenly spoke up, breaking the hours-long silence beween the pair.

Yugito seemed to be taken out of her reverie as she jerkily lifted her head. "Sorry, that's the loosest I can hold you without making the restraints weak," she murmured. "But we should be at our destination in a few hours."

"Hn."

All this while Yugito was acutely feeling terrible from the way the Two-Tails was rolling over in pain within her. The feeling was slowly receding as she kept walking in silence, but the mere sound of Sasuke's voice seemed to renew the feeling of sickness within her. She stumbled and stopped walking, and the chakra flare up was immediately detected by the Rinnegan.

"What type of monster are you?" Yugito blurted out, before doubling down and retching out bile into the surrounding shrubbery. Unsure of what was happening to her, Sasuke stood uncertainly a few feet from her. When she was finally done, he hazarded an attempt to understand what she meant.

"Were you referring to me?"

"Yes," she said shakily. "Matabi is feeling terrible after whatever you did to her."

Sasuke grimly nodded. Here he was, having promised to work to gain people's forgiveness, instilling fear in them again. The fear in Yugito's voice was apparent, it appeared that she was in some sort of physical pain as well, because she kept hugging her stomach while doubling down every time. For some unknown reason, his guilt forced him to explain his actions, something he did not recall doing since he had opened up to Sakura and Naruto about his decision to retire as a shinobi.

"It was a genjutsu. I could figure out from your chakra that you were building up your chakra levels to attack me. That was the way I thought would be the least painful to stop you, but it seems you already have undergone a battle prior to facing me, so the Two-Tails is coupling its own pain to yours. That usually doesn't happen…" Sasuke said softly before frowning as the realization dawned on him. The seal of the Two-Tails, which he had heard from his time at the Akatsuki, was one of the strongest to exist, at the same level as the Eight Tails. He knew that weakening it to such an extent, to the point where she felt Matabi's pain, was not a good sign.

Yugito, on the other hand, was shocked that a single genjutsu was the cause of Matabi's pain. If Sasuke could bring her to her knees with a single genjutsu, she was very wary of what else he could do. After all, she was aware of rumors that the Uchiha had eyes which could control the Tailed Beasts. But she was curious as to why Sasuke was explaining himself – another mystery which was certainly not mentioned in the Bingo book. "Don't pretend to understand the travails of a jinchuuriki, Uchiha. You caught me off guard, that's all. You won't be lucky the next time."

Sasuke sighed in exasperation. How could he convince this woman that he had no desire to fight? He had made an active effort to tamp down on any killing intent released from his chakra, given up his weapons and had chakra sealing cuffs placed on him. In this condition, any competent jounin could give him a run for his money and possibly win. The familiar sinking feeling was coming back to him – he was still a criminal in this life, even if his crimes weren't as huge as before, and maybe expecting people to trust him would always be a futile exercise. But for some reason, he was still hopeful that Naruto and Sakura would behave differently and allow him some inner peace. He was willing to give this life a shot for that opportunity. So he decided to ignore Yugito's baiting and calmly asked, "did the Akatsuki weaken your seal?"

Yugito gasped, because that was not a question she would have ever imagined Sasuke asking. Was he spying on her during her last mission? Did he see Matabi almost get extracted out of her by Sasori, and how she managed to escape his puppets by the skin of her teeth while her two teammates perished while covering for her? The gaping hole in her stomach which thankfully was healing from Matabi's chakra, was still feeling pretty painful. "It's none of your business, Uchiha. You should be more worried about your meeting with the Raikage," she said, clenching her fists. And with that silence fell between the pair again, till they finally arrived at the majestic gates of Kumogakure na Sato.

Having never been inside a Hidden Village other than Konoha, Sasuke could only marvel at the scenery all around. Located high in a range of tall mountains, the village was literally hidden in the clouds as the current thunderstorm raged on. In a strategic maneuver, the houses were carved out of the very rock of each mountain, and different sections of the mountains were connected with bridges and boardwalks. The people all around had a distinctive darker hue, and their eyes flashed with a level of fierce passion and pride Sasuke had almost forgotten since the death of his clan. As Yugito had shepherded him through the streets with a group of Kumo ANBU, Sasuke could feel a sense of foreboding wash over his senses. His Rinnegan was throbbing again, and he wished his hand was not restrained so he could at least clutch his eyepiece to level out the pain. People at roadside stalls or through the windows of their houses eyed him suspiciously, and the leader of the ANBU group had whisked Yugito to the back of the group, keeping Sasuke at the very front. At this point, Sasuke was hoping against all hope that there was some honor in Yugito's words of taking him to the Raikage, but he could sense that something was not quite right in the manner they were escorting him - the ANBU had barely reacted to him when they arrived, after Yugito had asked the agitated guard at the gate to contact headquarters. Years of training under Orochimaru had honed Sasuke's instincts, and they were screaming at him to flee. But he kept reminding himself that this was not about him, it was about Naruto and Sakura, who were in big trouble when the Akatsuki would inevitably show up a couple of days later. After walking through a couple of main streets, Sasuke was hauled up to a plain looking building, which clearly was not the Raikage's palace. 'More like T&I,' he thought wryly - he was not really surprised; after all, if he were in their shoes and a missing-nin arrived at his doorstep, that would possibly be his choice of action as well. If he were to meet the Raikage, he had to do it on his own terms. They say old habits die hard, and his stubbornness from another life was a trait hard to forget.

"The deal was that I turn myself in to talk to the Raikage, not to his underlings," proclaimed Sasuke with his usual confidence. "I have important intelligence to give him - will you not keep your word despite me accommodating every whim of yours?" he added, looking straight at Yugito, who looked away guiltily. The incessant rain and lightning seemed to amplify with Sasuke's words, but one ANBU, presumably the leader, came forward and kicked him hard in the gut, making him double down in pain. "You are an international criminal, Uchiha - you are in absolutely no position to make any demands. Your Hokage has made it crystal clear in the Bingo Book that you are to be imprisoned on sight, and the Raikage has very kindly decided to help her. Before extraditing you to Konoha, however, we do want to interrogate you as to what your motives in Kumo were."

Sasuke slowly stood up again, face expressionless, but his right eye flashing red with the Sharingan activated on instinct. "Oh-ho, so it looks like you just have one functional eye, doesn't it? Let's see how badly you injured the other," another ANBU exclaimed as he went to rip off his eyepatch. Yugito, who was watching this interaction warily, immediately tried to stop the said ANBU, but it was too little, too late. In a flash, the Kumo nin were greeted with mismatched eyes glaring back at them, and the last thing Yugito remembered was that she heard the words "Shinra Tensei" as she was thrown back, and blackness enveloped her. When she woke up in the central hospital the next day, she heard everyone, from nurses to patients, talking about the "incident" on Lightning square. An overexcitable nurse was explaining to a neighboring patient how a major encounter had ensued in front of the Police department headquarters, where an arrested S-class nin had been attacked by Lightning-based attacks from more than ten ANBU simultaneously, but he had seemingly vanished into thin air, as in the aftermath of the attack he was nowhere to be found, only a small statue from a distant building left behind in his stead. Taking a deep sigh, for she was not surprised (having seen Sasuke's power beforehand), Yugito closed her eyes, even as the Raikage's voice boomed through every PA system declaring that the fugitive Sasuke Uchiha was wanted, dead or alive.

Sasuke was feeling drained - he had barely enough chakra after using Amenotejikara to shunshin out of the main square and land up in a decrepit house on the outskirts of the village. 'Those chakra draining lightning cuffs really did a number on my chakra,' he thought wearily. Again, the element of surprise with him having the Rinnegan was the saving grace from all those ANBU - he definitely did not have enough chakra to summon Sussanoo, which would otherwise be needed if he did not want to be fried alive by that combined lightning jutsu. For some reason, the fact that Yugito had refused to trust him even a little bit despite him making so many concessions, had caused some anger to bubble within, leading him to lash out at the group of ANBU using the Almighty Push. In the brief time that he had knocked the ANBU out, he had taken the liberty to invade one of their mindscapes to figure out what they planned on doing to him in the T&I chamber, and he was shocked by their plans, which involved incapacitating him and extracting some tissue samples of the Sharingan and studying its properties. A parallel memory of Kumo's attempt to steal the Byakyugan from one of the Hyuugas a few years ago seemed to be the driving force behind their motives. Shivering a little on realizing the Raikage's true intentions, Sasuke had cemented his resolve of using all the means in his disposal to flee as far as possible from all Kumo nin and quickly go into hiding.

But as he now looked at his actions in hindsight, he realized that they were incredibly stupid - did he actually believe Yugito would take him to the Raikage? And should he have attacked a group of elite ANBU in such a severely chakra-depleted state? The Sasuke from a previous life would have crowned this new idiotic version of himself as a bigger dobe than Naruto, he thought, smirking at the irony. Now that he had blown his chance of arriving with some reinforcements from the Raikage to the battle with the Akatsuki, the onus of protecting Naruto and Sakura lay squarely on his shoulder. He had gotten the approximate location from Orochimaru's intelligence, and the event would approximately take place a day from now, so he had to plan out his course of action if he did not want to fail miserably like this time. But his eyes would not cooperate and stay open any longer - and he soon fell into the throes of sleep, thinking about a blue eyed blonde and pink haired kunoichi, each trying to desperately save themselves from perishing in the evil clutches of the Akatsuki.


	4. Chapter 4

Flashes of slaughtered people all around, including images which contrasted his parents' severed heads on display with Itachi suppressing his unshed tears, would invariably morph into Itachi poking his forehead one last time before collapsing, and the sequence would end with him literally feeling his lightning cloaked Chidori pierce through Sakura and Naruto's heart. Thus went Sasuke's nightly sojourn on a routine basis, and he would almost always emerge abruptly from the world of slumber in cold sweat. On opening his eyes, he would feel many things at once - panic, sorrow, guilt and relief, but he found that sadness would always win the battle of dominance. True, he would feel sad for the Uchiha in general, but it was always his mother's smiling face that would tear his heart apart. After being equipped with his Rinnegan, memories of Itachi's Tsukuyomi had ensured he knew her chakra fluctuations by heart. The transition from her initial shock at her own son's betrayal, which morphed into acceptance of her tragic fate, to the final pride in her son's capability, was something Sasuke could never comprehend. If ever he had to choose a hero, a role model, it would always be _okaa-san_. Memories of her soft and gentle touch, the radiant smiles she would flash while comforting him, and the genuine pride with which she expressed her adoration for his every small accomplishment (even when his father did not say a word) had always stuck with Sasuke, and remembering her had helped tide many a lonely day in solitude. Contrary to what people believed in the aftermath of the Fourth Shinobi War, Sasuke had allied with the Shinobi alliance not because of some inspired belief that protecting the village would save Itachi's dream. Well, that's not totally true - maybe some part of him had thought of Itachi when the Shodai Hokage had talked about his ideal of what a village should be. Itachi had been an aspiration when he was younger, a marker of sorts to shinobi excellence, but after the massacre and the subsequent information of the elders' role in Itachi's decision, Sasuke really could not place his brother on the same pedestal of excellence. Yes, he loved his brother, and was willing to go to any lengths to avenge his mistreatment by Konoha, but over the years (and after numerous nightmares), Sasuke had found refuge in the memory of his mother. So a major part of his wartime reasoning was that he had to save Konoha, just because he could not allow the place where his mother had lived so happily, to perish. If anything, it was always his goal to preserve the Uchiha lineage, and repopulate the clan so that one day, at least a group of people would honor the ultimate martyrdom of Mikoto, Itachi and Fugaku Uchiha, even if the rest of the village (and indeed, the shinobi world) spat on his clan's name. Recognition of injustice had been a major driver in Sasuke's quest for retribution in a previous life, and the ghosts of the past, along with the dormant embers of hatred was something he realized he could never let go of fully.

As he finally calmed the palpitations of his heart and oriented himself away from his nightmare-induced panic, he realized he had awakened before the crack of dawn. But the important realization was that his Rinnegan could clearly feel a foreign chakra signature approaching him, maybe within a couple of hundred meters of his location. Instantly on high alert, Sasuke blended into the shadows and suppressed his own chakra to the maximum. He silently cursed himself for being foolish enough to part with all of his weapons on just the Two Tailed jinchuuriki's word. Now he had to contend with potentially strong enemies without his trusted Kusanagi. To his surprise, the person wielding the (admittedly impressive) chakra signature stopped right in front of the courtyard where he was hiding, and politely spoke, "Sasuke Uchiha, I have come in the hope that you listen to reason and come back with me. We have identified your location and my boss, the Raikage, will personally come to finish you off if I fail to persuade you. I don't say this as a threat; I just do not want violence over a misunderstanding."

'Great,' Sasuke mused. This guy, whoever he was, was definitely not a pushover. The manner in which he spoke belied a deep-seated belief in his abilities as a negotiator, and Sasuke somehow felt that this guy had the Raikage's ear. Calmly Sasuke countered (because it really was no use pretending to hide), "I would wish to discuss some matters before we come to any agreement." In the blink of an eye, with speed that would have shocked anyone but Sasuke, a lanky man with a bulbous nose and shaggy, white hair which was partially hooded appeared. "Wonderful - I had hoped better sense would prevail. I am Darui, one of the Raikage's entourage. I'm sorry for awakening your slumber, but you see, the Hidden Cloud cannot afford to have S-class missing nin run amok in its territory," he said, inclining his head apologetically, before continuing, "I have heard from Yugito that you wanted to meet the Raikage, and I can arrange such a meeting, if you will follow me back."

Sasuke, of course, had other plans. The encounter between Naruto and the Akatsuki was half a day away at most, and he would have to force a dialogue on his own terms. The familiar chills of knowing that he'd soon be in a fight after so long was oddly relieving to him. "Hn, I appreciate that. The thing is, it's a little too late to have any meaningful meeting with your boss. And I am not trying to harm Kumo - I am merely on a mission that has to be executed with haste. However, to break our impasse, I'm willing to make a deal - follow me with some of your best men, and after I complete my mission, you can take me back to the Raikage."

To his credit, Darui barely showed any reaction to Sasuke's audacious demand. 'He may not be showing it, but I definitely sense some irritation from his chakra,' Sasuke thought, smirking as his bangs covered his Rinnegan. The familiar gears of stratagem and battle tactics had started churning in Sasuke's mind as he thought of the easiest way to finish the impending encounter. Once he had heard the man's name, he recalled how Darui had swatted away Suigetsu in his other life during the capture of Killer B, and knew he was extremely skilled at kenjutsu. 'Will he aim a lighting based sword technique at me, or go for another line of attack?' Sasuke mused, and was almost immediately proved right - if he were any other shinobi, he would have perished in the huge wave of black lightning from a single slice of Darui's blade, which literally cleaved the surrounding building in half. But having foreseen this possibility, Sasuke just had enough time to fashion a sword from the Asura Path and block the attack's impact.

"I'll give you this, nobody has blocked my Storm release so gracefully before, much less with one arm," Darui said, "I see that you won't come easily, so I guess I can play along. But before I do, I ask you - what is your mission?"

"There isn't enough time to explain, except that it involves the Akatsuki and two Konoha ninja your boss recently employed for a mission. Now,will you accept the bargain? If so, we have to move." And with that, Sasuke turned around and started heading for the door, when he was stopped again by Darui's outstretched sword. "I said I'd play along, Uchiha, only if you clearly answered my question," he said in a steely voice. "How did you know that Naruto and Sakura are in Kumo? Did Orochimaru send you to spy on them? And what is this talk about the Akatsuki?"

Sasuke felt his patience slipping, but he quickly suppressed his agitation and turned around, putting Darui face-to-face with an unsettling sight of swirling red and purple. In a fraction of a second he was down and out, limp from the impact of a well-timed genjutsu. 'I really shouldn't piss off the Raikage,' Sasuke thought as he remembered how he had been subjected to the relentless pursuit of Kumo nin - especially the team led by Samui, in another life, 'but it can't be helped. This guy was becoming far too annoying - and I don't think I could trust him to help me save Naruto.' And with that, Sasuke 'borrowed' Darui's supplies of kunai and shuriken, masked his chakra, and was soon leaping off tree branches on the outskirts of Kumo.

According to Orochimaru, Naruto and Sakura had been sighted near Kaminari Den, a remote monastery located above the plains that lay far north of Kumogakure no Sato. This had surprised Sasuke - what sort of mission were they sent on? Why did the Raikage choose them, and why had the Godaime Hokage agreed to it? At least in his previous life, Konoha and Kumo were not friends by any means - after the Third Shinobi war where they were on opposing sides, they were in a frozen conflict of sorts, each trying to one-up the other to gain a strategic advantage, until Tobi had gatecrashed their rivalry by expounding on the "Eye of the Moon" plan. Post that encounter, A and Tsunade had approached Madara in the Fourth Shinobi War through an alliance of convenience, and the animosity did not end till Naruto finally united the elemental nations under one banner. Another aspect which caught Sasuke's attention was Darui's change in demeanor when he had mentioned that his mission involved Naruto and Sakura. It was almost as if his relaxed attitude disappeared instantaneously, only to be replaced by an uncanny alertness with an undertone of worry. There was something fishy about this situation which did not sit well with Sasuke, but he could not place the exact cause of his discomfort with so little to work on. Feeling frustrated, and realizing that he was starving (having barely eaten since being caught by Yugito), he decided to take a quick detour to not only grab some food, but also make a few inquiries after disguising himself in a henge. The fated clash would not occur before another five-to-six hours, which was enough time for a shinobi of Sasuke's calibre to reach the Kaminari Den.

* * *

"Ne Sakura chan, I miss Ichiraku's," whined Naruto, as Sakura rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time. After the first few days, she had given up on trying to comfort the blond, mainly because nothing seemed to lessen Naruto's desire for ramen. "Take this as an opportunity to eat healthy for once, Naruto," she grumbled. "This is a mission after all, not a vacation."

The Kaminari Den (literally the "Palace of Lightning"), was befitting of its role as a monastery. Barring the one residential complex for the hermits, there wasn't really any form of habitation close by. Vast swathes of barren land was present all around, and people who lived there served the ultimate form of penance to Raijin, the God of Thunder. The monastery was very popular in Kumo, and boasted a star-studded list of former inhabitants, led by the Nidaime Raikage. Legend had it that he had perfected the infamous Black Lightning technique over there. All people in Kumo of various age groups, both civilian and elite shinobi, applied to get a chance to spend a few months in the Den, for various reasons – from perfecting a unique jutsu to finding inner peace and calm.

Inhabitants were forced to live a highly spartan lifestyle with two meals a day and no luxuries, and join in communal activities including prayers and meditation sessions. The mornings would involve getting up at 5am, taking a dip in the "Raijin naka" (literally the "elixir of Raijin"), which was a vast freshwater lake adjoining the monastery, and then practicing jutsus or meditating for the next four hours before the huge bell at the entrance signaled the time for breakfast. After a meagre meal of handcrafted wheat rolls and yak milk, they would then be guided to a couple of hours of physical exertion – be it collecting pails of water from a well on the other side of the lake, or help sweep and clean the various rooms and antechambers of the monastery. A similarly designed lunch would happen shortly thereafter (and would include some vegetable broth as well), and the afternoons would be generally spent with the priests on sermons involving how to lead a sin-free life and ways to channel one's chakra to one's benefit. The power of the monastery to "cleanse" one's soul and find one's true purpose had spread far and wide, and the priests would often accept requests from the Daimyos of a select few elemental nations.

There was one exception to this rule – Konoha was never invited, nor were requests from the Fire Country generally accepted, ever since the Third Shinobi War. The attempt to steal the Byakyugan was still fresh in the memories of both sides, and no efforts were ever made to overcome the frozen conflict relationship that had come to define the Kumo-Konoha relationship. So the fact that a formal request from the Yondaime Raikage to the Hokage to send in two shinobi to the Kaminari Den had shocked Tsunade was no surprise. As was his pompous style, the Raikage had addressed Tsunade as an equal (despite the fact that she was part of the haloed Sannin) and reminded her that despite Konoha's diplomatic "blunder" of refusing to hand over the bodies of the Kumon in who were killed during the Hyuuga kidnapping episode, he was interested in advancing bilateral relationships, and forging a path to peace between the Hidden Villages. Uncharacteristically, he changed tone in the next few sentences and described grudgingly that Konoha had outstripped Kumo in terms of medical advancement, and that the Lightning Country was very much in need of that expertise. The Kaminari Den was currently in a medical crisis, where all inhabitants was under the throes of an illness that seemed to severely weaken their chakra reserves, and the Raikage requested that the Hokage help out by sending her best medic, along with Naruto (who by now had become famous for his mastery of the Sage Mode under the tutelage of another Sannin, Jiraiya, and by extension, had fortified his reputation of being able to share unlimited chakra with others). Having been thrown out of her drunken stupor, Tsunade had quickly confided in Jiraiya, who had just brought Naruto back to the village with intel on the Akatsuki, and sought out his opinion on the matter.

"Do you think the Raikage is genuine in this request? What is he playing at? Surely he knows that allowing us access into the Den is like inviting us to gather information about it."

Jiraiya was uncharacteristically subdued - news of the Akatsuki from his spy ring, specifically their leader, was troubling him greatly. "We should be worried more about other matters, Tsunade, not about spying on Kumo. Who do you plan on sending as the medic? Surely you won't go by yourself."

"Hmph. It seems like you never learn, Jiraiya. Did you really think that I was doing nothing while you were training Naruto? If you recall, I was the fastest learner during Sarutobi-sensei's lessons. I will send Sakura, who has shown sufficient prowess during training to take up this task."

"Hah! That puny girl you train!" Jiraya's light-heartedness was back in a jiffy. "The Raikage is making overtures after such a long time, and you repay him by sending incompetent brats? Naruto, on the other hand, has matured a lot as he had the greatest teacher ever in history. He is definitely more than capable of looking after himself for a few days," he said, flashing his signature smile and thumbs up. "But, Tsunade," he said, once again serious, "my gut tells me that something bad is coming. If I were you, I would accept the Raikage's offer only on the condition that he send his best jounin to protect both of these kids."

And this is the backdrop for the situation Naruto and Sakura found themselves to be in. They both had been hustled up to a very crowded Hokage's office a few days later, where they found that three Kumo nin by the names of Samui, Karui and Omoi would escort them onto a A-rank mission in Kumo. As expected this news made Naruto hyper-exuberant (which, to be fair, was instigated by Jiraiya's comments), Sakura shell-shocked and Kakashi worried about leaving the two fifteen year olds in the heart of an unfriendly regime. Despite the gamut of emotions on their faces, however, all of them realized that it was the first time since the fateful night Sasuke walked away that the remainder of team 7 would do a mission together (which was not in search of Sasuke), and they could not decide if that was necessarily a good thing.

***There will be a brief interlude into Naruto and Sakura's situation, before reverting back to Sasuke's POV.

Also I wanted to ask - are people enjoying this type of story? I'm personally fascinated by Sasuke's character, and feel like there could have been much more complexity added for him in the manga, hence this fanfic. **Reviews will be appreciated.*****


	5. Chapter 5

*** **Author's notes: Sorry for the late update - have provided a super-long chapter to make up. I can't promise another chapter for the next couple of weeks, with finals coming up, but I will try to update when I can.**

The mission in Kumo had started off on an exciting note for Sakura. The travel between the Fire and Lightning country boasted of some of the most beautiful natural spots in all of the Elemental Nations. Tropical woods littered with rivers and streams near Konoha gave way to stretches of vast barrenness of desert land near the borders of the Fire Country that barely saw any rain. Sakura loved this change in scenery - she had barely left the village except to scout neighbouring areas in search of Sasuke. But now that she was on a mission in another country, she was in awe of the diversity of flora and fauna all around - right from watching the beavers build magnificent dams on small rivulets to desert woodpeckers carving out nests on the pulpy flesh of the monstrous cacti that were present all around. Just as the scenery melded into the coniferous forests signifying the start of the land belonging to the Lightning Country, she was pulled out of her nature-induced reverie by Naruto's obnoxiously loud voice.

"Samui chan, I'm hungry, dattebayo! Is there any ramen place nearby?"

Samui looked visibly irritated at Naruto's lack of respect, but didn't reprimand him directly. Instead, Karui, who looked like she desperately wanted to avoid Samui's wrath, replied quickly, "Of course Naruto san. We will approach Kumogakure in a few hours, and there are plenty of ramen stalls in the marketplace."

Naruto immediately perked up, and started bouncing excitedly around Sakura. "Sakura chan, did you hear that? They have ramen! We need to hurry up and reach Kumo immediately."

"Naruto-baka! Stop shoving me forward like that - we're all moving as fast as we can. Don't act like you'll die without ramen, especially now that we're on a mission."

Samui finally spoke, "I would advise you guys to exercise caution while traveling on these border areas. There have been reports of dangerous enemies sighted here, including Akatsuki members like Itachi Uchiha. So we need to keep our wits about us and not get distracted."

The mention of Itachi immediately silenced Naruto and Sakura, albeit for different reasons. For Naruto, Itachi had been an abstract threat during his younger days in Team 7, which was fueled mainly by Sasuke's intense hatred for his brother. He had often viewed Itachi as someone who was to be disliked because of the pain Sasuke had to endure, but that perception had become much more real when he encountered Itachi a year and a half ago in his apartment. Looking into the red pinwheel structure swirling in Itachi's eyes had brought out a visceral reaction from within - which was a mixture of panic and fear. After training with Jiraiya he had figured out that the Kyuubi might have played a part in such a reaction, but he still couldn't prevent the involuntary flinch that inevitably accompanied any recollection of that incident. For Sakura, however, Itachi was a subject far more personal. He was the single biggest reason for Sasuke's transgressions, the reason he left her on that bench without a thought in the lust for more power. The very thought of Itachi roaming freely under the aegis of the Akatsuki made her blood boil, and she had tried on numerous occasions, albeit unsuccessfully, to get Tsunade shishou to send a squad of Konoha ANBU to assassinate him. Despite having never come face to face with the man himself, Sakura had often heard from Tsunade and Shizune in their drunken stupor about how Itachi had murdered recklessly on the night of the massacre, and she could not comprehend how a human being could bring himself to murder people close to him. It had forced her to mature and look at Sasuke's motives a little bit differently, maybe a little more sympathetically, and this had renewed her resolve in bringing Sasuke back - to get the chance to tell him not to follow the same path of no return like his brother.

By the time they had reached Kumo, it was already nighttime, but it appeared that the Raikage had stayed up specifically to greet them. Naruto and Sakura were given a royal welcome from the Kumo nin ("befitting honored emissaries from our ally Konoha," said the Raikage), and were allotted plush rooms in the administrative guest house and given exclusive access to the palace kitchen. Just as Naruto was fawning over the exotic plants in his room, and the seemingly unlimited supply of ramen, they were summoned to be briefed on their mission.

Naruto seemed ecstatic over the treatment, immediately exclaiming that the Raikage was already acknowledging the future Hokage. But Sakura, although pleasantly surprised, was more circumspect. "Don't forget your true mission Sakura, especially with any distractions the Raikage may throw in. And above else, be on your highest guard – for we do not often send in shinobi to other nations, especially Kumo," Tsunade had ominously warned, and she was staying on high alert throughout. Tsunade had given her leave to help the ill people at the monastery, but had also specifically asked her to find out as much as possible about the buildup of militaristic facilities in remote areas of Kumo. It was going to be a hard task, especially with the naivety Naruto was prone to display, but the latter part of Sakura's training had focused a lot on reconnaissance techniques, and she was excited to apply what she had learnt to real life situations.

After taking a relaxing shower and making themselves presentable, both Naruto and Sakura were ushered into the Raikage's antechamber. A was seated at the head of the table on a huge throne-like structure, and there was a gamut of exotic fruits assorted into separate trays.

"Do help yourselves to any fruit you like. I trust that you have found your stay so far enjoyable."

"Of course, Raikage-sama. We are very honored to have received your invitation, and on behalf of the Hokage, Konoha thanks you for this majestic welcome. I carry with me a message from our Hokage," Sakura said, before handing over a scroll to the Raikage. Of course, before another word could be uttered, Naruto burst out, "This is so cool A-jiji! I haven't seen a bathtub as huge as the one in my room. And the ramen was excellent, although Ichiraku's is a little better. But I'm definitely enjoying my stay here, dattebayo!"

Sakura immediately flushed with embarrassment at Naruto's antics, but any attempts she made to mumble out an apology was cut off by the Raikage's loud guffaw. "I'm glad to finally meet you in person as well, Naruto. Tsunade was not wrong in saying that you're a handful to deal with. Though looking at you reminds me of another person from a while ago," the Raikage said thoughtfully. Before Sakura could stop any further damage from happening, instantly Naruto perked up and half-shouted, "Oh! Oh! You mean you knew my dad? Were you guys friends?"

Now Sakura had done a lot of reading on the Third Shinobi War, and the encounter of Minato Namikaze with A and B was stuff of legend. Opinion was deeply divided on who would have been the victor if the participants had actually tried, but even she knew that starting this discussion would not be productive to any party involved. So she quickly silenced Naruto with a glare and sweetly continued, "Pardon Naruto for his exuberance, Raikage-sama. He's just excited to hear the mission details from you."

"Ah, steering conversations back to the point - looks like Tsunade has taught you well, Sakura" the Raikage nodded. "Alright, let's get down to business. If you please, Darui," he said, motioning to one of his bodyguards.

Immediately Darui took over the briefing, "Sakura-san, Naruto-san, I'm sure you have heard about the Kaminari Den. The entire building complex of the monastery is currently in a state of quarantine, and our medics are trying to contain the spread of the disease. The symptoms of this unknown disease, which we call "Raitir", seems to be severe chakra exhaustion, and there have been 6 casualties over the last month. We are very pleased that Konoha has responded to our call of help, and since Tsunade-sama has personally vouched for you, Sakura-san, we are very hopeful that you will be able to figure out a cure soon. As per the conditions stipulated by the Hokage, we will send one of our best protection details, led by Samui-san, with you on this journey."

"Hey, hey! We don't need protection, dattebayo! Sakura-chan and I are very strong," Naruto started angrily, and Darui looked slightly unsure of what to do with an enraged blonde. But the Raikage swiftly stepped in, "We're very aware of your strength, Naruto, especially after your training with the Toad Sage, but you are our guest here in Kumo. Whatever their strength, guests are expected to follow certain protocols. And going with a team of Kumon in is one such protocol. Unless you are implying that we are weak?"

Sensing another flareup between the two stubborn men in front of her, Sakura immediately said, "Ah of course, Raikage-sama. Naruto did not mean anything derogatory. We look forward to traveling with Samui-san's team," even as she pinched Naruto's arm to prevent any further outbursts. Having already agreed in Konoha that this was the method Sakura would use to take over a conversation, Naruto could only glare at her.

Feeling slightly sorry for the blonde, Sakura turned to the Raikage and asked, "if we are finished with the mission briefing, can we spend the rest of the evening exploring the market?" Upon receiving the Raikage's assent, she whispered to Naruto, "do you want to get some ramen together? I'm sure there are great options in the famous Lightning Square, since we got these VIP passes to eat at any restaurant in Kumo." Immediately Naruto's frown disappeared at the sight of the passes, and was replaced by a smile that could light up any room. "Ramen? And with Sakura-chan? Is this my lucky day? Is this a date? Are we going to get some dango after?"

Sakura laughed at the blonde's innocence, it was the one true quality that made Naruto so endearing. "You can think of it as whatever you want, Naruto. But if you ask so many questions, I might change my mind and go window shopping instead." Having Naruto back to the village was extremely relieving to Sakura, who had spent the majority of her time either working herself to death under Tsunade, or spending time with the rest of the Rookie Nine being the only one without a team. She had learnt the true meaning of loneliness during the last year and a half, having moved out of her parent's house to a small apartment near the Hokage tower, with no teammates to bank on or friends to spend time (barring Ino-pig's occasional visits, which became more and more sparse as team 10 started being assigned to recon missions). Even Kakashi barely found time to spend with her, having been elevated to being the leader of the Jounin Council which directly advised the Hokage.

After Naruto had finally returned, Sakura found that he was the only one who made it a point to visit her daily, ask her to accompany him to Ichiraku and talk incessantly about any topic under the sun which he found interesting. The very behavior of the blonde she had found intolerable a few years back was something she was very thankful for nowadays. So she would often find herself hanging out with Naruto, eating ramen or reminiscing about Sasuke, and the different strategies they would take to bring him back. She found that the blonde's company eased her mind, and was almost cathartic, as she could express all of her pent-up anger and worry without fear of judgement. Naruto, on the other hand, truly cherished being in his "Sakura-chan's" company, and would gaze at her starry eyed as if she were the most palatable ramen in the world, and would always hear out her rants on whatever was on her mind – Tsunade-sama, Sasuke, a botched training session or a tough day at the hospital. This sort of mutually beneficial agreement had carried on between the two of them over the past few months, and they had found that each was the other's support in a fast moving world which had hardly any time for them.

* * *

Soon both Naruto and Sakura, along with Team Samui, composed of Samui, Karui and Omoi, were on their way to the Den, blitzing through the trees surrounding Kumo as only shinobi could go. The sky above, unsurprisingly, was overcast (a routine occurrence in Kumo), the wind was raging and a storm was clearly in the offing.

"So Samui-chan, what sort of missions do you usually do? Do you fight a lot of bad guys?" Naruto asked innocently, hoping to break the silence.

Almost immediately Samui's face hardened. "I'm sorry Naruto, I am not allowed to talk about missions I've taken previously."

Now the practice of shinobi from different regions discussing missions was not uncommon, and definitely not off limits. Often a shinobi would try to prop up the reputation of his/her village by recounting missions which involved dramatic fights or dangerous (but successful) S-class nin takedowns. But Samui seemed to be trying very hard to not show emotion at Naruto's question, while Karui and Omoi seemed apprehensive. Sakura clearly could see through her partial efforts to mask her feelings. Trying her best to be discreet, Sakura gave Naruto a slap on the back of the head. "Naruto, don't go there – she clearly doesn't want to talk about it," she hissed.

"Ow – I'm sorry Sakura-chan," yelped Naruto, but bravely continued, "but why won't you talk about missions, Samui-chan? During my travels with Ero-sennin, we would often stop by villages, and the ninja would love talking about their big successes. For my part, I have no problem talking about my soon-to-be successes."

"Oh! Naruto-san, what are your upcoming successes?" Karui chirped, as Sakura facepalmed, knowing full well what was coming next. Seeing three curious faces staring expectantly in his direction, Naruto immediately swelled up his chest and began his to-be famous speech. "Well, you see Karui-chan, I always wanted to be the world's greatest Hokage and make people acknowledge me. So Tsunade baa-chan said I'm currently in line to be Hokage."

"No, you're not," Sakura muttered, but Naruto brushed it off, "and when people acknowledge me, I might even convince Sakura chan to choose me over the bastard."

Sakura immediately flushed and looked prepared to hit Naruto again. "No way you fool, that will never happen. And what makes you think I still remember Sasuke?"

Naruto immediately raised his hand in mock surrender, "ah of course, Sakura-chan. I was just teasing you. But," he added seriously, "the mention of the bastard brings me to my second impending success – I will very soon bring Sasuke back to the village, and make him see the error in his ways. For some reason, every time I think of the bastard's suffering, I imagine myself in pain and I get the urge to somehow be able to help carry his burden. And without fulfilling this aim, I cannot complete my dream of becoming the Hokage. It will also make Team 7 complete, won't it Sakura-chan?"

Before Sakura could deny everything Naruto said, and warn him to keep his mouth shut from showing sympathy to an international criminal in front of three Kumon in, Samui flash stepped in front of Naruto, grabbed him by the collar, and raised him up to her eye level with such speed that all Sakura could see was a blur.

"All right, Naruto, I'll play this game," Samui said icily, "you wanted to know what missions I've been taking recently? Along with my team, I have been on a mission to assassinate one S-ranked missing nin for the last three months. Isn't that exciting?" she laughed derisively. Naruto, who was slightly gagging from Samui's chokehold, could only nod in response. "Ah! Don't you like that! Well, to be more precise, the Raikage ordered us to ensure the complete and total destruction of your precious Sasuke Uchiha, who, if you were unaware, is one of the 'Flee on sight' S-rank criminal. You think he's some misguided guy who's good inside, but do you want to know what he really is? Do you?"

By this time the killing intent emanating from Samui had increased tenfold, and both Naruto and Sakura were frozen to the spot in fear. If Kumo ever wanted to kill two Konoha genin, that would have been the ideal moment. But Samui continued talking, "two weeks ago, on Orochimaru's command, Uchiha razed down an entire village of millet farmers on our border with Sound, just because they were unable to pay their dues to Orochimaru. When we reached his tracks, we were too late, and all that was left was a vast swathe of land on fire, and the bodies of the villagers, including small babies and their mothers, charred from the heat. And you call a guy who has no qualms in killing helpless people like women and children misguided? Over the past year and a half, our intelligence unit estimates that his actions, under Orochimaru's command, have directly or indirectly caused the death and enslavement of more than a five hundred people. He's a true abomination on the face of the Earth and can be punished only by death. There is, and should never be any form of redemption for him, especially of the form you talk about. What does Konoha plan on doing if you succeed in bringing him back? I can only hope that your village will not shield a criminal of this stature from meeting the fate he deserves."

Sakura was gobsmacked on hearing Samui's account of Sasuke's actions since he left the village. Tsunade had never told her of the "incidents" she often heard rumors of involving Sasuke, as they were always classified. And even though she knew not to take a rival shinobi's word at face value, she felt slightly sick at being told about Sasuke's atrocities on a firsthand basis. However, her thoughts were interrupted abruptly by Naruto, who roughly released himself from Samui's hold. There was a noticeable shift in his aura, and his tone was deadly serious as he said, "Do you guys have any concrete proof that Sasuke himself killed these people, Samui-chan?" Even Samui seemed a little taken aback at the blonde's change in demeanor.

"Well, we have intelligence to show that these incidents occurred when Sasuke was in the region, but obviously, as the intelligence is based on eyewitnesses and recollections, we can't verify every eyewitness' account for its truth."

"That means that you don't have sureshot proof, right, Samui-chan? Till the time I am faced with irrevocable proof of Sasuke's transgressions, I will believe that Sasuke can be turned to the good. And that means you have no right to assume the worst of Sasuke either."

Karui and Omoi looked stunned – not once had they seen anyone try to back-answer Samui, let alone argue with her about an international criminal. They knew how hard of a taskmaster Samui could be, especially when it came to convincing people of the evils associated with nukenins, so seeing her being silenced by a fellow shinobi was highly surprising. As Naruto and Sakura were led down the dingy roadways in one of the towns they was passing through, an uncomfortable silence descended among the party, and nobody really felt like starting a conversation for the remainder of the trip. The storm had started raging on in earnest, almost a reflection of the clashing anger between the members of the group. The sins and atrocities of Sasuke Uchiha hung over them as the elephant in the room, and neither Naruto or Sakura knew how to escape the long shadow it cast wherever they went.

After reaching the Den, Sakura had found that the ailment afflicting the monks in the monastery was highly non-trivial; the virulence seemed to be stemming from an unknown source which was masking its true identity. After performing some of Tsunade's handcrafted jutsus, she had found that chakra drainage was just the tip of the iceberg in terms of true damage of the bodily damage inflicted. The organs of the afflicted individuals all seemed to be decaying slowly, and the severe cases had rotting masses of tissues. The resident doctor present appeared woefully lacking in any preparedness to provide any useful input, but it seemed that one of the chief doctors from Kumo had visited previously, and left behind a set of notes for Sakura when she arrived. Most of the notes were just observations of symptoms which Sakura herself had noticed, but there were two curious instructions tacked on at the end: Sakura was to confirm any possible hypothesis for the cause of the disease with him, and both her and Naruto's blood was to be tested weekly by the resident doctor for safety purposes.

"Ne Sakura-chan, I don't want to be poked by a syringe every week," Naruto whined. "There's nothing fun to do here as well – it's in the middle of nowhere, dattebayo!"

Surprisingly, Sakura did not retort back immediately to stop the blonde's whining. "I know, Naruto, but I can't argue with the resident doctor about this, because it is ostensibly to keep us safe, and the Raikage does have the right to know the course of action I plan to take with regard to any cure for this disease," she said contemplatively. "But we must be extremely careful – remember we are in enemy territory, so as Tsunade-sama warned us, we must remain alert at all times. Now, will you lend me some chakra to revive these poor souls?"

* * *

The next few weeks had been very frustrating for Sakura – she could barely get the patients to talk, she was not allowed to research the surroundings of the monastery without being able to provide a "imperative" reason to the Raikage (according to the resident doctor, who often corresponded with Kumo), and she found that team Samui was really living up to their reputation as a first class protection detail – she was never able to slip away from their watchful gazes. The various antidotes and medically effective jutsus she had learned to prepare under Tsunade were not really working, so she knew that there must be something wrong with either the surroundings, or the people themselves had lost the "source" of their chakra network – and Sakura had not been trained to regenerate the life force of a person, which was the cure to the latter. Only Tsunade, with her Byakugou seal, was capable of administering such a cure. But something in Sakura was uncomfortable with claiming such a diagnosis – all of the patients seemed to have the same symptoms en masse – chakra loss, severe exhaustion leading upto organ failure, and seeing such a homogeneity in disease response was something Sakura had never studied. It all pointed to some external cause for the disease, but every time she brought it up in any correspondence with the Kumo chief doctor, he would brush it off in a joking fashion and point to the vast barrenness all around and claim, "so Sakura-san, what specific thing about the surroundings is a source of contamination? The Kaminari Den doesn't have any food or potable water sources nearby – and you have been eating the same food and fluids imported from the capital as the other patients for the past couple of weeks, but you are unaffected by it. Surely this theory of an external cause is a little off? My team is more convinced that it is caused by some infection, and we truly believe you can help us find the causative agent." And the worst thing about every such conversation was that Sakura could not find evidence to argue with this reasoning.

"Wow, Naruto, you have to see this," Sakura harshly whispered into her teammate's ear during one of the nights just before turning into bed. The blonde, who was already half snoring in his sleep, mumbled incoherently before turning away in his sleeping bag. So Sakura decided to increase the bait – "this ramen is so tasty – it can even be cooked in under a minute!" This immediately jolted up Naruto, and the poor guy literally stumbled upto Sakura's position by the window, desperately on the lookout for any hidden ramen. When it apparently became clear that Sakura was lying, and Naruto was about to start a tirade against her meanness, Sakura quickly got his attention by softly whispering, "I'm sorry for waking you , Naruto, but look at the sky. It's a full moon tonight."

"What's so great in the sky that you had to wake me up, Sakura-chan? I am already bored to the heavens with this place, I am not allowed to do anything fun, and you won't let me sleep? That's not- "

"I know, Naruto. I know you are not enjoying this mission, and there is a good reason I wanted to show you the moon. Do you see how big and full it is?"

"Yeah, Sakura-chan, I see it. But so what?"

"Well, exactly a year and a half ago, it was a full moon when I was knocked out on the bench by Sasuke as I tried to stop him from leaving."

The mention of Sasuke immediately shut the blonde up.

"What I'm saying, Naruto, is that I had a feeling that night that something big would happen. I'm getting the same feeling tonight."

"You mean something is going to happen to us, Sakura-chan?"

"I'm not sure, Naruto, but something tells me we should leave this place sooner rather than later. And that's why I want to propose something fun for us tonight – we go outside the Den and explore a little. I'm sure we'll find our answer to this confounding disease there."

Naruto's eyes were as big as saucers. "Really, Sakura-chan? Awesome! Then why would you shut me down in front of Samui-chan whenever I would ask the same thing?"

"Baka! Do you think they would actually let us go? Instead they would double up the security detail watching over us. Now, I have a good plan to escape Samui-san and company for a few hours, but I need your help, and quickly."

"Of course, Sakura-chan! Tell me what to do - I'll do anything to get out of this place."

"Great. So here's the plan - at this time of the night generally Omoi is taking watch, and it should be easy to escape his watch if we leave behind believable shadow clones, and use your newly learnt control of Kurama to blitz away from here."

To Sakura's immense surprise, she found that this plan was a huge success. "We should have implemented this plan much earlier," she thought with a wry smile, as both she and Naruto left behind special shadow clones with more than a fourth of their chakras (so that the clones would have a recognizable chakra pattern to any of the Kumo nin watching over them, and would not vanish instantly on getting attacked). Soon she was enveloped in a cloak of orangish chakra, and in an instant, found herself transported more than five miles away from the monastery. "Wow Naruto, this technique is actually fabulous - it felt like I was being teleported."

Naruto's smile was a sight to behold, and the beaming blonde tried to keep from puffing up his chest with pride "Aw, anything for you, Sakura-chan. But why did you want me to come to this spot specifically?"

Sakura herself could not explain that decision herself, and instead sunk into deep thought as she looked at the surroundings around her. They were among a huge pile of debris, which appeared to have been from a landslide from the neighboring mountains. But there was an ominous aura all around the rubble, and to Sakura, it seemed that the Full Moon was sort of amplifying the sense of foreboding all around. "I don't know Naruto, but can't you sense that something bad is present here?"

"I don't know, Sakura-chan, Kurama seems to be completely at ease here, he isn't giving me any trouble. In fact, his usual grumpiness seems to have almost gone. I was thinking -" and with that Naruto crashed into the rubble, and disappeared from sight. Half panicking, Sakura rushed to the hole which was left behind from Naruto's fall into the ground, and shouted, "Naruto! Are you ok? What happened?" After not receiving an answer initially, she started clearing out the debris in the hope of following Naruto down to wherever he had fallen to.

"Wow, Sakura-chan, you have got to see this," came Naruto's muffled voice eventually. "Its like a secret treasure room, dattebayo!" By the time Sakura joined him by leaping down the passage, which she found was a well-lit and aerated tunnel, Naruto was up on his feet, examining a seeming pile of silver cans one on top of the other in a large room. The room was huge, and lined with industrial-like pipelines in conjunction with the silver cans splayed in piles over every corner. There were also some ancient artifacts nearby, including a huge statue of Raijin, and two large sickles inscribed in gold and silver.

"Kinkaku and Ginkaku," Sakura recited, as she examined the weapons, and her eyes widened in realization. She had read about the infamous Gold and Silver brothers from Kumo, the pseudo-jinchuuriki who had achieved enough power to assassinate the Nidaime Hokage. "Naruto - I think I know why Kurama is very comfortable in this place. This looks like the hideout of the Gold and Silver brothers from more than two decades ago, and it seems like Kumo has taken over to create a secret arms buildup base. And legend has it that both of these brothers had a part of Kurama's chakra in them."

Naruto's eyes widened at this piece of information - "oh! I didn't know that, Sakura-chan! No wonder I'm feeling familiar with this place, and Kurama isn't as active as usual. But what are all of these pipes and cans all around?"

"I'm not sure, Naruto," Sakura said, as she sniffed one of the cans Naruto had opened out of curiosity (and hunger, but she had immediately confiscated it from him). "Based on the preliminary tests Tsunade-sama taught me, the stuff in the cans could either be fuel to run some highly intensive machine, or they might be some very sophisticated poison. Either way, I think we have found the problem which is the root cause of the disease back in the monastery," Sakura grimaced, pointing to a gurgling sound from one of the pipes, which seemed to be partially deformed, and was leaking its contents into the soil layer above the base. Naruto was at the location of the leak in a jiffy. "Does fixing this mean that the people in the monastery will get better, Sakura-chan, and that we can return to Konoha after?" he asked, eyes twinkling in delight at the thought of returning to Konoha (and presumably, Ichiraku). "Hopefully that should be the case," Sakura said contemplatively, as she took out a huge vessel from a scroll, and started putting in a few cans inside. "But make no mistake, Naruto, remember that we are primarily here on the mission Tsunade-same gave us in addition to helping out in the monastery. Kumo is stockpiling resources for war, which might very well be used against Konoha. We have to take some samples of this liquid back home to test its potency and full purpose."

Now, if there is one attribute which is fatal to the life of a shinobi, it is a lapse of alertness. And that is exactly what both of the Konoha genin were guilty of at the moment. Of course, the combination of a secret hideout in a foreign land, ancient relics belonging to infamous nin and the discovery of Kumo's rearmament program could throw anyone for a loop, let alone two inexperienced Konoha genin. But there was a brilliant flash of light, and the next minute Naruto and Sakura found themselves gagged and bound at the entrance of the tunnel.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, it is a surprise to find you here of all places," a voice boomed from the shadows outside the room. Both Naruto and Sakura knew they screwed up by letting their guard down - this guy's chakra was formidable, and they did not fancy their odds of escaping. Sakura's mind went into overdrive almost immediately, thinking of different ways she could tackle this problem, and whether she could force their escape using any of her super-strength techniques. Unfortunately, she realized, being underground meant that a single mishit could result in a cave-in, and that would make any escape impossible. Naruto, on the other hand, was berating himself and Kurama for the slip-up in his guard. 'Ero-sennin won't be happy with this outcome, especially after skipping several of his "recon" visits to the ladies bath to teach me to utilize my sensor skills,' he thought glumly. But upon hearing the next words, ostensibly from the guy's companion, both of their thoughts stopped almost immediately.

"Oh come on, Itachi, you don't think it would have been more fun to bust into that monastery to get these brats? At least I would have gotten a good fight there. But either way, you have to acknowledge the usefulness of the Samehada in recognizing these jinchuuriki brats - if it wasn't for him we wouldn't have decided to look here in a thousand worlds."

Kisame's words finally drove home into Naruto and Sakura, and the implications of his words hit them like a freight train - they were in the captivity of Itachi Uchiha, and neither of them could think of an outcome worse than their current predicament.


	6. Chapter 6

**And I'm back! Seriously, with being cooped up at home because of the virus threat, I'll hopefully have more time to write. But enjoy this chapter, which is plenty lengthy!**

It is always intimidating to be in front of an S-ranked nin, let alone the Akatsuki member Itachi Uchiha. Naruto and Sakura could feel the intense gravitas emanating from their captor, as they looked at the swirling pinwheel of the fabled Mangekyo Sharingan, which filled one with an odd combination of fear and helplessness. In fact, these feelings were accentuated for Sakura as she was bound to the point of complete immobility, and one thing she had come to hate over the years of training with Tsunade were situations she could not take control of.

"Hey Itachi, why do you think the Leader told us to be careful of these brats, huh? All you had to do was put them under a tiny genjutsu, and they were sitting ducks for us."

Both Sakura and Naruto were dumbfounded - and the latter immediately disputed Kisame's characterization. "You bastard! This can't be a genjutsu, because Kurama would have let me know otherwise immediately. Let us go right now."

Uncharacteristically, Itachi actually responded to Naruto's barb. "You forget that these eyes can control even the Kyuubi. And it seems both of you have not been taught enough on genjutsu. Unfortunately, that seems to be your fatal mistake." And with that, Itachi flicked his hand and Naruto was instantly put into a Sharingan induced sleep.

Sakura was beginning to see what Itachi was saying. The gaudy sickles of Kinkaku and Ginkaku were far too shiny for having been decades without use, and there was something fishy about keeping ancient relics in a room which was supposedly an armament storage center for Kumo. She could almost hear Tsunade's stern voice instructing her from a few months ago, "Genjutsu is the most deceptive of all jutsu, Sakura. It does not require great power like ninjutsu, nor great speed and technique like taijutsu. However, this makes it the most dangerous jutsu type in the hands of a creative user." At that time she had confidently replied with "But shishou, all you need is a strong resolve when you chant 'Kai' to end its effects. Instead of tackling genjutsu, can you teach me the waterfall Suiton technique today?" Little did she then understand the importance of Tsunade's disapproving nod, and quiet warning of "That's not true, Sakura. Kai will work only if you know you're in the genjutsu in the first place."

Sakura was definitely kicking herself over that mistake now, but training with Tsunade had definitely made her amenable to adjust to the situation, and she had already formed the skeleton of a plan to escape their captors, but it needed a few lucky breaks. The first was the absolute need to come out of the underground tunnel, and luckily, it seemed Itachi and Kisame were in the process of accommodating her. Naruto and Sakura found themselves hauled up on Kisame's broad shoulders like sacks of potatoes, and as they started moving the surroundings slowly started reverting from its genjutsu appearance to a much older and ramshackle cave. Stopping at the entrance, Itachi summoned one of his crows and after hearing what it had to say, turned to Kisame.

"Before heading back to our rendezvous, we need more information on the jinchuuriki's seal. My eyes tell me it's quite a complex design."

"Huh - too complex for the genius Uchiha, eh? What do you want to do then, Itachi?"

"I propose we take a brief detour to the monastery nearby. My crows tell me we might find the information we seek there."

Kisame broke into a broad grin at this change of plan. "Ah, I was hoping you'd say that. But before we start the fun detour, do you think we should take the girl with us? I mean, she's just occupying space without actually being of any use to us."

"That's your call, Kisame. Although I thought you wanted her for your own purposes."

Kisame grinned wickedly at Itachi's insinuation, and Sakura's skin crawled at the malicious intent leaking out, but she was relieved to hear his next words, "That was true before the change of plan, Itachi. But now that we're going to stop by the monastery after all, I have my sights set on another kunoichi."

Itachi frowned slightly, but otherwise gave no reaction. "Do whatever you want quickly. I will not waste any more time on such trivialities."

"Alright, alright. Let's leave her here, and we'll move in double quick time."

Now Hoshigaki Kisame was a fighter par excellence, but he wasn't really known for his finesse, or estimating his opponents strategically. He barely gave a thought to Sakura's background, and like countless enemies before him, underestimated her true strength, which was using seemingly innocuous actions of her enemy to her advantage. So when he literally threw her on the ground head-first, most likely to kill her from a concussion, he definitely did not expect the ground around them to crumble to pieces. It was as if the impact of her head with the ground was like a dynamite which unleashed a mini-earthquake. Itachi had managed to jump back with the sleeping Naruto, but Kisame was buried under a good three feet of boulders and debris. And when the dust had cleared, there was Sakura, free of her bindings courtesy of a chakra scalpel, a smirk evident on her face.

"Sakura Haruno, I commend your use of quick wit along with Tsunade-sama's technique effectively. I will admit, Kisame was underestimating you, and paid the price for it," Itachi said, tilting his head slightly in acknowledgement of Sakura's skill. "But whether you are ready to follow through with your resolve remains to be seen."

Before Sakura could process Itachi's words, there was an animalistic roar from underneath the debris, and with a flash of light, all of the debris was flung outwards, leaving behind a crater containing an enraged Kisame, Samehada in hand, looking like he would not stop till murder was committed.

"You pink-haired girl, you are going to regret this," yelled Kisame as he made a mighty slash with the Samehada, and the sheer pressure split the ground around the crater in five different directions. Sakura just had enough time to make the necessary hand signs to substitute herself with a boulder, which was shredded to pieces by the slash.

'This is going better than I expected,' Sakura thought. 'Now I just hope I can hold on till Samui-san inevitably notices our absence and comes to look for us. But till then, let's see if you can handle this - shannaro!' and with that piece of self-encouragement, she jumped up high in the air, and with a succession of hand seals whispered "Doton: Earth dome". Almost instantly the ground around Kisame folded into a dome, but it seems Kisame was prepared, as he had built up enough chakra in the Samehada to rip right through it and jump out onto level ground. However, that seemed to play into Sakura's plan, because immediately she was behind him, chakra laden fist ready to crack every bone in his body. What she did not anticipate was getting speed blitzed by Kisame right then, especially when he was on the defensive. Before her punch could connect, she felt a crushing blow to her rib cage, and she collapsed, doubling down on the ground in pain.

"I will admit, Pinky, you gave me more trouble than a lot of other overrated shinobi." Sakura heard Kisame say, even as she felt him bash the Samehada into the ground, dangerously close to her. "Now how should I punish you? Ah, I know. I'll make you feel firsthand what happens to women who stand up to me." And with that Kisame set down the Samehada, and lifted her up with a single hand, face full of vile intentions, and all Sakura could do was shudder uncontrollably in fear. At that moment, Itachi suddenly flickered into the scene.

"Stop right there, partner."

Kisame turned around in amazement. "What did you just say, Itachi? Are you serious? I have respect for you, but you do remember our fundamental agreement that we don't interfere when someone attacks one of us till we have taught the guilty party a lesson, right?"

"You know I don't ever stop you, Kisame. But we have an unexpected situation I do not want to deal with right now, so we need to leave immediately."

"What the hell does that even mean, Itachi? You know what, I'm done with your bullshit - always taking me for granted. I'm not your lackey, and I'll be sure to let the Leader know during the next meeting - and…"

Kisame's rant, however, was cut short by a new voice. "That's assuming you make it to the next meeting, Hoshigaki. If I were you, I'd let the girl go - and pick on someone your size."

"Foolish little brother, so you've tracked us down."

Sakura jolted out of her pain induced dazed state on hearing the familiar voice, and she felt a keen sense of deja vu on seeing the image of Sasuke, resplendent in the same dark cloak as when she last saw him at Orochimaru's hideout. Unable to vocalize her shock on seeing him through her pain, she settled for giving him a brief nod as her eyes filled up with tears. 'What is Sasuke-kun doing here? And is he going to help us?' Sakura thought desperately, 'or is he going for his death match with his brother?'

To her amazement, Sasuke reciprocated to her nod, giving a small trademark smirk, before turning back to Kisame. "I don't normally repeat myself, but it looks like you have a hearing problem. So here's it again - let her go. Right now."

When Kisame made no move of releasing Sakura, all of a sudden Sasuke vanished. There was a deafening clang, chokuto against kunai, as both Uchiha brothers clashed right in front of Kisame.

"I don't think you are in any position to make demands, little brother. And I thought I made myself clear the last time we met - you have no right to meet me before you get eyes similar to mine. Why are you here?"

From the corner of his eyes, Sasuke saw Kisame fling Sakura onto the ground and take an offensive stance with the Samehada. "Oh ho! What do we have here? An Uchiha family reunion? Then surely you wouldn't mind me joining in, won't you, Itachi?"

Before Kisame could charge forward, however, Itachi raised his hand. "Kisame, stay out of this. It's not your business. Instead take the jinchuuriki and the girl with you to the monastery. I will join you there shortly."

"Ah, you're not any fun, Itachi. Ok - I'll not interfere in your matters, although you clearly don't live up to your end of the bargain. But I'm definitely sticking around to watch the outcome of the fated meeting between the brothers. Who knows, you might even need my help.

Itachi gave Kisame a cold glare. "Do what you want, but don't forget our priority is the mission." Then finally turning to Sasuke, he gave a smirk, "So what is it, foolish little brother - are you ready for me, or are you still the weakling I left behind two years ago?"

* * *

It felt so strange looking at Itachi in his flesh when Sasuke knew he was long gone in his own timeline. But the sense of nostalgia that came with hearing the once familiar "foolish little brother" quip hit Sasuke hard, and he just stood stone still, looking at Itachi with his lone Sharingan with awe. When Orochimaru had talked about the Akatsuki coming to get Naruto, for some reason Sasuke had completely discounted the probability of meeting Itachi, which again was a marked departure from his previous, calculating self who was always ready for any eventuality. Without thinking he had activated the 3-tomoe Sharingan, but kept his Rinnegan hidden behind his bangs.

"Sasuke, I'll tell you once more - you have no chance of defeating me without my eyes. So step aside, and return when you have achieved that power."

For all of Sasuke's initial panic about whether he could actually carry through with this encounter, he felt remarkably calm once he had heard Itachi's voice - he had realized that subconsciously this was the meeting he had always yearned for during his "travel for atonement" period after the war. "I have no business with you Itachi, and my goals have changed. I will happily step aside, for I no longer desire to kill you. There is only one problem."

If Itachi was surprised by Sasuke's words, he did not show it beyond a slight narrowing of his eyes. "And what might that problem be, little brother?"

"Nothing much, really. It's just that you have Naruto and Sakura with you, and my mission is to take them myself. Hand them over, and I will let you go your own way."

Itachi let out a small, barely noticeable smile. "I will give you this, Sasuke - you have imbibed the fake confidence of the Snake quite well. Do you want me to make you step aside?"

Now Sasuke knew he was playing a very dangerous game. Itachi was superior to his current body in terms of taijutsu and ninjutsu, and if Kisame joined in, then any battle would be over very quickly for Sasuke. So he had to play the weak hand he possessed correctly to have any hope of success.

"Itachi, I believe I have reached a stage that is enough to stand up to your threats. I am not intimidated by you any longer."

Itachi suddenly straightened up, and in a flash was on Sasuke's left with a kunai in hand. Once again, a lifetime's worth of instinct helped Sasuke dodge the slash at the last second, but he realized that it wasn't Itachi's aim to actually slash him. Surprised, he looked up, only to see Itachi frowning at him, while Kisame was looking at him with much more interest, before bursting out laughing. "Oh Itachi! You didn't tell me that your baby brother was a cripple. And you say this guy will kill you? Hah!"

Itachi's frown deepened, and he spoke in an icy voice. "I knew you were foolish and weak, little brother. But I didn't know you were powerless enough to lose an arm. Who did this to you?"

Sasuke looked down to find that Itachi had precisely cut through his cloak to expose the stub which remained in place of his left arm. He smirked, "I did it to myself. After all, you were not there to protect me, aniki."

This time Itachi seemingly just disappeared, and Sasuke found the air knocked out of him the next instant, as Itachi held him in an iron-like chokehold. "When I ask a question, I do not expect a stupid answer, Sasuke. Spare me your falsehoods."

Sasuke found it pretty ironic to turn the tables on Itachi by using the latter's words from another life, but could not resist the temptation to do so. "People live their lives bound by what they accept as correct and true. That's how they define reality," he breathed out laboriously, "but what does it mean to be 'false' or 'true'? They are merely vague concepts - people's 'reality' may all be an illusion. So tell me, big brother, can we consider them to simply be living in their own world, shaped by their beliefs, instead of one all-encompassing truth existing?"

Itachi looked slightly stunned at these words, and that gave Sasuke enough of an opening to wrench himself away from Itachi's grasp. "Oh come on, Itachi, we have to go to the monastery, and take the jinchuuriki to the Leader. I also want to have my way with this insolent pink haired girl - so why don't you put this brat to sleep, so he can't interfere anymore?" Kisame demanded, before adding with a smile as he grasped the Samehada, "unless you want me to handle him?"

Itachi barely turned in Kisame's direction, but said quietly, "I told you not to interfere, Kisame. I am well capable of teaching my fool of a brother a lesson myself. It seems that he has forgotten his destiny under the corrupt influence of the Snake, and needs my help to be reminded of it." And before Sasuke could grasp the significance of his words, he was transported to the very same Tsukuyomi which had so often haunted his nightmares.

"Where has your hatred gone, little brother, and why have you weakened yourself to a point where you cannot hope to beat me? Have you forgotten all of this?" Itachi said, gesturing around. "Do I have to reinforce your memory once again via Tsukuyomi and remind you of your purpose?"

The scene of his beheaded parents in front of his brother, tanto in hand, as blood smattered the walls of the Uchiha Manor was so familiar to Sasuke that it barely phased him any longer. Of course, the Tsukuyomi was the outcome Sasuke had played along throughout to obtain, and he finally let loose his trump card. Before Itachi could make sense of what happened, the scenery changed to a huge dome shaped building surrounded by deep forests, and Itachi found himself bound to a pillar. Stunned at the fact that someone could override his impenetrable Tsukuyomi, Itachi looked up to mismatched eyes glowing purple and red, and for the first time in his life, he felt like he could not breathe from the sheer aura emanating from the figure in front of him.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was feeling slightly nauseous. Having the Rinnegan was definitely helpful in sidestepping genjutsus, especially the Tsukuyomi, but it had been throbbing in pain for a while, and using it to take control of the Tsukuyomi had just ratcheted up the pain tenfold. 'Maybe using my Mangekyo would have been easier, but that would not help my cause here' he thought. Sasuke knew that he needed to persevere for a few more minutes to prove his point to his brother.

Itachi had initially looked absolutely gobsmacked on seeing the Rinnegan, but schooled his emotions rapidly. "So you did it, little brother, you got eyes which are not equal, but superior to mine. I cannot be more proud of you, and even if I did not anticipate battling the Rinnegan, I think you are ready. Do it, Sasuke, fulfill your lifelong ambition - kill me now."

"Itachi, I told you. I will not kill you, not anymore. I just wanted to talk with you alone, hence I goaded you into the Tsukuyomi."

"It looks like you have full control of this genjutsu - I'm powerless to do anything but obey."

It was at this time that Sasuke broke down. Looking at his brother, the same person who had sacrificed his family, friends and indeed, his life for some undeserving, self-centered people in the power halls of Konoha, now trample his pride yet again to bow down to his younger brother's whims tore through the walls Sasuke had carefully constructed to protect himself from the tragedies in his family. He had realized that his Rinnegan had subconsciously chosen the Uchiha Hideout, the site of their final battle in another lifetime, as the background terrain for the genjutsu, but he had greatly underestimated its effect on his emotions. Pangs of regret hit him in waves, as he fell to his knees, hyperventilating. What could he say to the man in front of him? Scenes of how the reanimated Itachi, despite suffering all of the hardships in the world, had smiled and poked his forehead while proclaiming that he always loved Sasuke as his last words, washed over his mind. Could he ever hope to comprehend, and empathize with the self inflicted torture Itachi had endured, just to protect a village? Just as he was going deeper into the throes of guilt and despair, Sasuke felt a small voice at the back of his head whisper, 'Why cry over spilt milk, Sasuke? This is your chance - at least get some closure, and empty your guts to the only person in the world who can understand your pain.'

Composing himself after a few minutes, Sasuke stood back up and walked over to where Itachi was bound and captured, and literally tore open his bindings. Surprised, but wary, Itachi almost stumbled away from him on instinct, and readied himself, as if expecting Sasuke to attack viciously.

"Do you truly hold my word to such a low bar, Itachi?" Sasuke asked with sadness evident in his voice. "I promise you I won't attack - please, can we talk freely?"

Hearing Sasuke's pleas seemed to put Itachi at some ease, and he sat down, looking fixedly at the grass. "I said I'm under your control here, Sasuke. I cannot compete when I'm bound by a Rinnegan-powered genjutsu. So tell me what you wanted to talk about. If you will not kill me now, at least let me complete my mission."

Minutes passed, but not a word was said. A little surprised, but also annoyed at Sasuke's erratic behavior, Itachi looked up to give his brother a pointed glare, but any feeling of animosity melted away, as he saw Sasuke sobbing silently, head bowed low. Time almost seemed to move backwards, as Itachi could see nothing but the familiar image of his lonely, scared otouto, in dire need of comfort but having no one to provide it. A decade ago he might have been the person to alleviate Sasuke's misery and cheer him up, but he knew he had long forfeited that right. All he could do now was wait silently as Sasuke once again composed himself, and admirably put up that facade which was preventing him from crumbling on the spot.

"I apologize for my behavior, Itachi. And you're right - I will not lay a hand on you ever, even if you know your time is running out."

Ignoring Itachi's stunned expression, Sasuke gave a ghost of a smirk and continued, "It really wasn't that hard to figure out that you're going blind, dear brother. My eyes keep sensing the disappointment you currently feel on hearing my decision, after all, I was to be the executioner to punish you for your sins towards our family, correct? Unfortunately, that will not be the case this time. What I can offer you, however, is an opportunity to atone for your sins."

Itachi looked over at Sasuke, nothing betraying his emotions as he asked, "What does that mean? And how did you know about the blindness caused by the Mangekyo, Sasuke? Has the Snake been feeding you with spurious information?"

Hearing Itachi keep referring to Orochimaru as Sasuke's sole confidant was starting to grate on Sasuke's nerves. The three tomoes of his right eye flashed red as it morphed into its ominous hexagram structure, the wind started raging around them as the scenery once again changed to the Uchiha Manor. "I hope your curiosity is satisfied, Itachi. Now, look around you. Do you understand where you are?"

"Ah, Sasuke, so you do have the Mangekyo. That makes your possession of the Rinnegan much more sensible to me," Itachi mused softly, as he proceeded to answer in a louder voice, "Are you mocking me, Sasuke? This is the very scene I wanted to ingrain in you forever."

"I think you misunderstand me, aniki. Look around yourself once more, and repeat what you just said, if you dare."

Raising his eyebrows slightly, Itachi looked around again, but what he saw petrified him. Gone were the cut heads of his parents, but instead there was an older, more haggard version of Sasuke at the same spot, preparing to pierce himself with a lightning coated chokuto. What was even more terrifying was that Itachi could instinctually sense, with alarming clarity, the intense grief and self-loathing which was radiating out of this version of Sasuke as he proceeded to commit suicide. As the blade pierced through the wound, Itachi felt bile pile up in his throat, and he had to vomit at the sheer goriness of the ensuing sight. Feeling a little weak in his knees, he could only muster a trembling "Why…" before he collapsed on the ground, sweating incessantly.

"Ah, I'm sorry, Itachi, but I forgot to mention that for this particular genjutsu, you had the privilege of experiencing how the Rinnegan views the world. Every negative portion of one's chakra is amplified a thousand-fold, and hardly ever forgotten. Now can you imagine why I would choose the sweet release of death over enduring the memories of your Tsukuyomi every night with these eyes? I have agonized every day of my waking life why you chose to massacre our clan, why there was no other way, and I finally am convinced that you must have been forced into it by some higher-up in Konoha. What was the price, and are you happy with the outcome?

"You know nothing, Sasuke, do not make assumptions which can backfire," Itachi replied in a steely voice.

"Don't worry, Itachi, I am a changed, and as you just saw, a cursed man, so it is not my intention to do anything to Konoha. The reason I showed you that scene was not to berate you for your choice. I just want to know the truth, and I believe telling me about it is your one true chance at atonement."

Itachi was silent, seemingly deep in thought. So Sasuke pressed forward. "I remember you telling me to live the basest and the most unsightly life, Itachi, till I received your eyes, and then I had the right to come in front of you. Well, I am here today fulfilling my end of the bargain, and I request, no demand, that you no longer carry the burden all by yourself."

After what seemed an eternity, Itachi finally looked up, Mangekyo flashing defiantly. "While I'm impressed by your speech, Sasuke, I cannot take you up on your offer. What I have done is solely for my benefit and to test my power. There is no excuse I want to conjure for any of my past actions."

"Don't you see, Itachi? As your brother, I know more about you than anyone else living today. I remember you talking about your dream of a peaceful world, how you fought with Father to avoid the coup, and how you were always so gentle when not on a mission. You can't fool me there, irrespective of how many Tsukuyomis you put me through."

"What do those memories have to do with anything?" Itachi finally exploded. "How will me telling you what you want make anything different? Stop living within your own fantasies about my character, and live in reality, Sasuke! The truth is that I took away everything from you, and it is only natural for you to hate and kill me."

Sasuke sadly shook his head, 'I tried,' he thought to himself, 'I tried to get him to open up, but even now he refuses to give up on being the sacrifice for a delusional peace he believes he has brought to Konoha.'

"In that case, Itachi, I had one final question for you, and then I will release you. Do you really believe that the shinobi world is heading towards an era of peace? You, of all people should know that it just isn't possible, with the baggage that comes from the previous warring eras, and the various actions the Akatsuki is taking."

For the first time, Itachi let the worry show on his face for an instant before schooling himself. "I have no reason to believe otherwise. At the Akatsuki we are aiming to be the force against which all people unite to face together."

Once again the scenery around them changed, and Itachi suddenly found himself in the midst of a humongous battlefield, surrounded by millions of shinobi. "Sasuke, what is this?" he whispered, as he saw huge boulders rain from the sky and literally wipe out a battalion of more than a hundred Konoha nin nearby. Images of the death toll from the impending Fourth Shinobi War kept playing in the Tsukuyomi (with Sasuke strategically removing known people like himself from the images shown to give an impression of a prediction, not of an alternate reality), until Itachi finally fell to his knees, trembling.

"See, Itachi? If you actually believe in 'peace through force' from the Akatsuki, as you put it, and continue with your plan with the Bijuu, there's a good chance Konoha will face the brunt. My eyes often show me premonitions, Itachi, and this is one of the most common ones I see, almost daily."

Itachi remained silent for a couple of minutes before finally looking up at Sasuke with such despair evident in his eyes that it scared Sasuke. "I'm beginning to see your point a little, Sasuke, but I'm afraid I am helpless to provide any assistance in that regard. I don't think I will be able to make it to that point to prevent any of that from ever happening, if what you say is true. Would you grant my one request?"

A little shocked at Itachi's sudden capitulation, Sasuke said "yes" almost immediately. Itachi gave him a small smile, and walked upto him slowly. "Did you know both of them refused to fight me on that night eight years ago? I have spent all of my time thinking why they would ever do that, because their reason did not make any sense to me. I was their son, they said, and they were proud of me. That was enough for them. How could that ever be enough?"

Sasuke stood stock still, because he clearly knew that this was the once-in-a-lifetime occasion where Itachi actually opened up about the night of the massacre. He also knew Itachi was referring to their parents as "them", mainly because he could not bring himself to call them by their titles due to his guilt.

"It was never enough, Sasuke. I betrayed them, I betrayed my friends, and I betrayed you. And I will live with that for the rest of my life. But you embody their will, little brother. You have exceeded my wildest expectations, and I believe both of them will be so proud of what you have achieved. So keep living for them, for your friends who you hold dear, and help redeem the Uchiha from the disgrace I have brought about. That's all I can ask of you." Itachi concluded with the familiar forehead tap, which brought an explosion of warmth within Sasuke, which he realized he had been yearning for a long time. "Goodbye, little brother, for there will be no next time. "

At this moment, Sasuke realized that there had been a solitary crow who had been watching the entire conversation between the two of them, and that definitely wasn't part of the genjutsu he had set up. 'This is bad,' he thought as his worst fear started coming true, 'Itachi has more control than I thought possible.' The last thing he remembered before darkness overtook him was the crow flying towards him with a spinning Mangekyo pinwheel in its eyes, and Itachi whispering as the Kotoamatsukami finally ended, "Remember the Golan Pass, little brother. We are assembling all the jinchuuriki there. Bring help when you are ready, you cannot take on the Akatsuki alone."

**I'm going to be honest - this chapter was hard to write, because I did not want to put Itachi down just because Sasuke is OP with the Rinnegan, and I hope I showed that. The central message of this story is not to give Sasuke Ws, but it chronicles his travails in a new world where he is trying to make up for mistakes he had made in the past. So it's going to be a struggle for Team 7 - because the shinobi world (which the manga does not do enough justice in its portrayal), is complicated and screwed up (just like real life). **

**Reviews will be appreciated! In fact, I'm going to start a contest where if I can get my review count up to 20, I will update a new chapter within 48 hours of the milestone. R&R!**


	7. Chapter 7

**And I'm back! Enjoy, and let me know how you feel about the chapter (I was agonizing over it for the past couple of days, and have decidedly mixed feelings about it)**

_At the Hokage Tower, Konohagakure_

There were two things the Godaime Hokage's ANBU guards tried their level best to avoid - contradict her when she was angry, and move her bottles of _sake _out of her sight. Unfortunately, the former was currently in progress as they were currently in front of a visibly enraged Tsunade, who looked like she would not hesitate to murder the lot of them. Luckily the guards had managed to bribe their _sempai_ Kakashi to be the actual bearer of ill tidings, so he was presently the target of Tsunade's ire.

"I don't give a damn about his reputation - Kakashi! He's an empty-headed, foolhardy, lecherous idiot who dishes out unbelievably stupid advice. And just because of the old times I listened to him, and look at the result!"

Ever the unflappable jounin, Kakashi stared right through Tsunade's glares with a stoic face. "I know, Hokage-sama. But if I may say, you are letting emotions cloud your judgement right now. Jiraiya-sama in his letter has given us crucial information about Naruto's kidnapping, and is personally going to take responsibility to get him back from the Akatsuki. On our end, however, we must act in haste as well, and send a dispatch team to help him."

This calm advice seemed to soothe Tsunade's agitation as she let out a heavy sigh and sat down in the Hokage's seat in resignation. "Sometimes you really get on my nerves, Kakashi, but this is not one of those times. Thank you for being prompt and direct with this urgent intelligence."

With a barely noticeable grimace of worry, Kakashi tilted his head, "Of course, Hokage-sama. After all, this is my team we are talking about, and I won't let any of them get hurt. I request that I be part of this rescue team, and that we get going by the hour."

"That can be arranged. We have to get Naruto back at all costs," Tsunade proclaimed before adding softly, "why did I send him? I can't lose him too." Suddenly she jerked her head up and said, "and are you sure that Sakura was nowhere to be found at the Kaminari Den during or after the attack?"

Again Kakashi shook his head grimly. "As per Jiraiya-sama's sources, Naruto was taken as the sole living prisoner from the Akatsuki raid on the monastery. Nobody else was found to be alive there in the aftermath of the battle." But as Tsunade put her hands over her face in a desperate attempt to stifle her sobs, Kakashi quickly added, "Please, Hokage-sama, let's not fear the worst yet. I believe that the information is incomplete. If Jiraiya-sama was correct in his inference that it was Itachi Uchiha and Kisame who carried out this mission for the Akatsuki, then there has to be a sign of a scuffle involving Sakura, which he did not find. And having taught Sakura, I just know that somehow she managed to escape alive."

Tsunade's anger was again bubbling up, but she did not want to waste any more time, especially if time was of the essence in retrieving Naruto and her beloved apprentice. "I only hope you are right, Kakashi - but enough talk. Gather Asuma, Kurenai, Gai and Yamato and leave by the hour. Godspeed, Kakashi, and you'd better come back with better news - for this is the event which can break Konoha as we know it."

"Count on me, Hokage-sama. We will be there at the appointed place to meet Jiraiya-sama. And I promise we will bring both Naruto and Sakura back home safely."

* * *

_Two hours before the conversation at the Hokage tower. By the lake adjoining the Kaminari Den_

Itachi was strangely silent as the two Akatsuki members were blitzing along towards the monastery. Not that silence was alien to him, but the look of worry on his face was causing Kisame visible unease.

"Hey, now, Itachi! What in the world happened out there with your cripple of a brother? I haven't seen you this despondent since that day when I grilled you on the real reason you joined the Akatsuki."

Slightly irritated at being pulled out of his reverie, Itachi gave Kisame a glare and a brief "Hn."

"Ah c'mon Itachi. You need to snap out of it, otherwise I'll have to babysit you at the monastery. By the way, you didn't really tell me why you changed the plan to go in there despite finding the jinchuuriki already."

Giving a brief sigh, Itachi set Sakura (who had fallen unconscious from the pain) down on a large boulder as he motioned to Kisame to stop. Kisame did so almost immediately, and walked upto Itachi, looking quite confused.

"Alright, partner - to answer your first question, I'm a little unsettled by my little brother. He might be our greatest threat, and we need to report to the Leader as soon as we return from this mission. That brings me to your second question. The monastery might have something on the jinchuuriki's seal, which we will need to eventually extract the Kyuubi."

Kisame gave a broad grin at Itachi's surprise lack of secretiveness. "Well, well, Itachi - who would have thought you would give a straight answer to my question? In a generous mood, are we? Or is this your way of reconciling with me? If I didn't know better, it would seem that your dear little brother almost did a number on you. But of course, you must have shredded him psychologically in your little genjutsu. I'll have to hand it to you, it took a few seconds this time, instead of a whole minute you took the last time we met him. Did you give him the intensive version?"

Itachi didn't reply directly, and instead flickered away with the words, "Let's go." Shaking his head in amusement, Kisame followed. Within half an hour they were in front of the magnificent brick doors at the entrance of the Kaminari Den, which at a humongous size of 60 feet by 50 feet, served as the first line of defense against any attack on the monastery. For more than half a century, the monastery had withstood army invasions and enemy battalions. However, that day, Kumo would find out that these defenses were woefully insufficient against the might of the Akatsuki.

* * *

_Half an hour after the Akatsuki raid on the Kaminari Den, Kumogakure_

A woman sobbing in agony, an old man begging for mercy, the screams of a hundred people being on the fine line that separates the dead from the living jolted Sakura awake. The true terror of the infamous Akatsuki, which was nothing but hearsay to her till this moment, seemed to hit her hard, as her first attempt to get up almost stole her breath away. Already almost fully incapacitated by pain with four broken ribs, Sakura could only watch helpessly as Kisame finished bludgeoning an old, weak monk more than a dozen times with his Samehada, till his body was nothing more than a unshapen, bloody mass of pulp. The entire monastery was crumbling under vast swathes of black flames. Itachi was nowhere to be seen, but the incessant screaming, which could only signal torture of the most ruthless fashion, pervaded the entire area like a blanket. Suddenly noticing that Sakura was conscious, Kisame cackled gleefully and called out to her.

"Hey, pinky! Look behind you, and think twice before standing up to me. Otherwise, you'll be the one next in line to suffer the same fate."

To Sakura's absolute horror and disbelief, four bodies hung limply in front of her, each from a roughshod wooden structure made from the destroyed pillars nearby. Samui, Omoi and Karui were all staring straight back at her with an eerie, vacant look in their eyes, even as they were somehow fastened to the structure made from two pillars. Stumbling forward, Sakura rushed to help them out, but abruptly stopped when she realized that spikes about seven inches long and an inch wide were driven into the wrists. Her medical knowledge instantly told her that the spikes were targeted to hit the area of the median nerve, causing shocks of intense pain up the arms to the shoulders and neck, and provide a slow and painful death to each victim. The haunting sight of the three deceased Kumo nin was enough to make her retch in revulsion.

But what turned her blood absolutely cold was the sight of the fourth corpse, and on a closer inspection, she let out a terrified scream. Slumped against a 7-foot-tall post, in his oh-so-familiar black cloak, was Sasuke. In the center of the post there was a crude seat to "support" him, and Sasuke''s body was awkwardly turned on the seat so that the feet could be nailed to the post. His arms and shoulders were bound at an ungodly angle which seemed to have already caused the dislocation of his shoulder and elbow joints. The position of the nailed body held his rib cage in a fixed position, making it extremely difficult to exhale, and impossible to take a full breath. From his haggard and dehydrated face, and unseeing onyx eyes, it looked like he had lost significant amounts of blood even as he died from oxygen deficiency.

"Sasuke-kun! Oh - what did they do to you?" Sakura gasped as she fell on her knees, shaking uncontrollably. It was as if her own heart had been ripped out, and her purpose lost, as she untied his bindings and cradled his blood-soaked head in an unfocused manner. Greenish healing chakra flowed incessantly onto Sasuke's body as if it were not a lost cause. It was only when Sakura started feeling numb and dizzy did she finally stop, and realized that for some reason, the surroundings, which until now was littered with screams of agony, had become eerily silent.

"Sakura Haruno - they don't call you Tsunade's best student for nothing," Itachi's voice boomed. "Your empathy and devotion to people you care for are unparalleled, because I have shinobi of far higher calibre break in the face of much smaller injuries. Unfortunately, today I have finally put my brother in his rightful place, and you seem to have a problem with that. So I will ask you only once - what is your business with my brother, and why do you care for a traitor to Konoha?"

Hearing Itachi speak, after knowing that he was responsible for Sasuke-kun's condition, made something in Sakura snap. "You bastard," she growled, slowly standing up, even as her hands glowed with the concentration of all of her remaining expendable chakra. She knew that this blow was an all-or-nothing gamble, with a miss almost certainly guaranteeing her death, but oddly she found she did not care at all. "What kind of monster would murder his brother in this abhorrent way? You deserve to die, and I will make sure to carry out Sasuke-kun's will."

Just as Sakura was about to launch herself at Itachi, broken body be damned, she suddenly found herself unable to move. It was as if she was in frozen animation, as swirling pinwheels of the Mangekyo confronted her directly. "You know, Sakura, before you use up your last bit of chakra in a futile bid to attack me, I wanted to give you a choice," Itachi said nonchalantly.

'There's no way he stops me now,' Sakura thought desperately. 'I must carry out Sasuke-kun's will, even if it requires me to exceed my body's limits.' And indeed, to Itachi's (and frankly, her own) surprise, she found that the more she steeled her mind in the resolve to kill Itachi, the more she was able to free herself from Itachi's genjutsu. "So you can resist my eyes, can you? Impressive," Itachi commented, but did not make any move to prepare himself against Sakura's impending onslaught. So it was hardly any surprise that when Sakura had finally broken through his grasp and gone in for the kill, she landed the earth shattering punch aimed for Itachi's skull on nothing but the empty ground, and found a _tanto_ piercing her abdomen, even as she fell to her knees and started coughing up blood.

"I had hoped you would be a little more sensible and hear me out, Sakura. You must know that I have not yet killed you on purpose, because I want to offer you a choice one more time. And this time, you can do nothing but listen." Satisfied at Sakura's defeated expression as she knelt on the ground, Itachi continued, "I have the power to revive my foolish little brother," and watched with amusement as Sakura jolted up in attention. "but only at a price. Are you ready to pay it, Sakura?"

* * *

_Outside Kinkaku and Ginkaku's hideout, Kumogakure, an hour after the Akatsuki raid_

When Sasuke finally woke up, he had a raging headache. The infamous scorching sunlight of Northern Kumo definitely did not make things any better. Shielding his eyes from the blinding light, he took a moment to remember how he got to this condition in the first place.

Images of Itachi tapping his forehead came rushing back in full force, and it almost seemed surreal that he had gotten his brother to open up about the massacre, even if it was a minuscule amount. 'This is what I should have aimed for the first time around,' Sasuke thought, but to his surprise, he wasn't feeling the usual dose of gloom and remorse. He felt light-spirited, relieved and was as close to a smile than ever at the sense of accomplishment from the talk he just had with Itachi. But as the famous saying goes (and this was especially true for Sasuke), all good things must come to an end quickly. For at that moment of the 'almost-smile', his Rinnegan had to start throbbing with renewed vigor, and the signal of a thousand people whose chakra were getting extinguished was so strong that he had to shut his eyes and double down in pain. He knew that Itachi and Kisame had talked about visiting the Kaminari Den for some unknown reason, and at that moment, his heart sank - because he remembered they had Naruto and a very injured Sakura with them.

'Shit - this can get extremely ugly, because despite our chat, those two are still Akatsuki members,' Sasuke thought before panic started rising inside him - 'where is the dobe's chakra signature? I can't sense it anywhere in the monastery. And what about Sakura? Am I going to fail them again in this lifetime?' Without much thought, he instantly opened his Rinnegan despite the pain - this was one of the rare times he decided he would not worry about conserving chakra - and instantly conjured up a space-time portal to transport him to the coordinates of the monastery. 'I might not be able to use the Mangekyo and Amenotejikara for a couple of days - but my gut tells me that I might be too late otherwise,' he thought as he entered the portal, already starting to feel exhausted. 'Dobe, Sakura - don't you dare die on me.'

The environment outside the portal was sweltering, and the thick smoke that had descended made everything very hard to see. On instinct Sasuke had activated his 3-tomoe Sharingan, and he was truly appalled by the sight in front of him. The monastery had been reduced to nothing more than a pile of rubble, and Amaterasu was blazing away with wild abandon. The smoke was making it difficult to breathe, and he was starting to feel lightheaded. "Where the hell are those two?" Sasuke thought, becoming more alarmed by the second as his Rinnegan strained to feel any fluctuating chakra signature. At the same time his mind was racing at a thousand miles an hour - 'They must have taken the dobe to their hideout. But what are planning to do with Sakura? Kisame was definitely going to assault her, and she's already injured…'

Just as he was going to let out a roar in frustration, he felt a blip, and the faint signature of a chakra from behind a half-destroyed wall, that exuded pain and despondency, as if it were struggling to stay afloat the waters of death. Running as fast as his legs could carry him, Sasuke found that there indeed was someone in that spot, but was surrounded by black flames, and the smoke covered the person completely. To his horror, however, the Sharingan immediately alerted him to the said person's pink hair, and he instinctively knew Sakura was a minute away from being eaten alive by the flames. 'I have to do this, chakra drainage be damned' Sasuke thought as he fell onto his knees in exhaustion after activating his Mangekyo. Normally a Rinnegan portal would require him to rest his eyes for days, and he knew that nothing good was going to come for overstraining his eyes to modulate Amaterasu. But the alternative was unthinkable. As the black flames died down slowly, Sasuke felt, after a long time, a warm burning pain in his right eye as blood gushed out from an optic nerve that burst open from the strain of overuse. Hardly paying it any attention, Sasuke persevered, and finally extinguished the Amaterasu in a thirty meter radius from Sakura.

Now Sasuke had known Sakura for over a lifetime, and he had felt many things about her - irritation during his genin years, anger and disappointment over his missing-nin days and an equal measure of pride for her achievements and fear for her safety in the post-war aftermath. But he had never recoiled instinctively at her appearance like he did when the smoke had cleared and he could actually make out her features. Face and body littered with slashes, a tanto protruding out of her lower abdomen, and with a shoulder joint bent at a highly unnatural angle (indicative of an acute shoulder dislocation), Sakura had lost so much blood that she had turned ghostly pale. Vacant, unseeing jade eyes stared blankly ahead, but the really unsettling thing to Sasuke about her was that she was standing upright, proud and straight, as if the battering her body received (which would have broken any person in the world) was nothing of much import. When Sasuke gingerly touched her hand, she instantly collapsed on the ground, mumbling incoherently as he knelt above her, looking helplessly all around for any sort of medical assistance.

'There has to be somebody left to help,' Sasuke thought desperately as he strained his tomoe-less Rinnegan in search of chakra fluctuations from all of the corpses strewn everywhere around them. The blood had made it almost impossible to see with his right eye, so he had shut it momentarily to try and stem the bleeding. To his utmost relief, one man nearby was slightly twitching, and Sasuke pounced on him, raising him up by his collar. Surprisingly, the man immediately cowered down and raised his hands in surrender, and Sasuke realized he had only been playing dead all this while.

"Listen - I won't hurt you, but I need to know if there is a doctor nearby. This woman here is on the brink of death unless she is treated immediately."

"Ah thank you, kind sir - I never have meant any harm to anyone myself. As for a hospital, I should know one for sure, being a doctor myself. The nearest one is a half day's journey away - all the way on the outskirts of our country's capital, Hokokyou. But of course, there are healers in the nearby village of Samuri and -"

The man cut himself off abruptly, having noticed something on Sasuke's face with wide eyed terror. "That eye - you have the Sharingan, don't you?" he asked in a faint tone. "Please, I beg of you, don't kill me, please, I never meant for this to happen…." before actually falling unconscious with fright.

Sasuke grunted with frustration - he definitely needed more information about the whereabouts of this village if he was to reach there before Sakura lost too much blood, and he hated using genjutsus to pry into the minds of helpless people. But with time being of the essence in this case, he had to make an exception. As he invaded the mindscape, he expected to follow the man's most recent thoughts to get a better idea of how to reach Samuri. What he did not expect to find in this man's memory was numerous images of Naruto and Sakura during their daily activities at the Den, each down to the minutest detail. Sakura's testing of antidotes was meticulously documented, and memories of letters sent with vials of Naruto's blood were everywhere. Despite disliking where this was going, Sasuke delved deeper, only to see in vivid display the meeting of the doctor with Darui, Samui and another hefty ninja in a secluded room.

The hefty man appeared to be deep in thought as he finally looked up and said, "Kaheko-san, thank you for obtaining these samples. It appears the seal placed in the boy is exceptionally intricate, but thanks to you we have tested these samples in the village by the lake and obtained some knowledge of how to temporarily deactivate it." Just as everyone in the room stood up and bowed to each other, the memory of the doctor suddenly changed and Sasuke found himself in a scene sometime earlier in the day, during the Akatsuki raid. Swirling red pinwheels stared apathetically as a kunai pierced the doctor's throat slightly, and the doctor whimpered and begged for mercy. Very soon the pleas had devolved into cries for help and helpless sobbing as Itachi mercilessly dragged the doctor through an A-rank genjutsu, and Sasuke could feel the man's mental frame crumbling. 'Shit - I have to get out of his mind quickly,' Sasuke muttered, and even as he activated his Sharingan to return to the real world, the last thing he saw was Itachi's smug smile as he adjusted his signature Akatsuki robe and said, "Thank you for your service, doctor. You have proven to be useful enough to be kept alive."

As Sasuke sat down panting next to Sakura, the only thought which occurred to him was that if Itachi had wrought all of this destruction on the doctor without even touching him, then what had happened to Sakura, who had also been battered physically? Had Itachi subjected her to a crippling genjutsu as well? The sheer unresponsiveness of the naturally vivacious and resolute girl beside him surely hinted at damage beyond physical pain. "We have to get going, Sakura, please," whispered Sasuke as he desperately thought of ways to escape swiftly. Eureka struck, and in no time he had taken out his summoning contract and summoned Garuda, the majestic king of hawks. "I definitely needed some help, my friend. It is good to see you again," Sasuke murmured as he carefully laid Sakura on Garuda's back and patted the huge bird's head. "Now let's get out of here."

Once he was in the air, away from the smoke and heat of the destroyed monastery, Sasuke could finally calm down and take stock of the situation. He had conversed with his brother, and thought he had made some headway in comprehending Itachi's ideals. But the latter's actions at the monastery made him as unpredictable as ever. Sasuke also realized from his bleeding eye that his Mangekyo was purely his own eyes (and not Itachi's) in this timeline, so he had to use it sparingly. But most importantly, he found that he was faced with monumental difficulties for which his previous life had definitely not equipped him for - a psychologically battered Sakura on the brink of death, a Naruto kidnapped by the Akatsuki and the specter of espionage by Kumo which could easily result in a war with Konoha. What was the Akatsuki planning in this world, which made their strategy so different from the last time? And where was his own standing and acceptance in this new world? As Garuda blitzed above the coniferous forests towards Samuri, Sasuke knew he had to make extremely difficult choices very soon. But all of that could wait - right now he absolutely had to tend to and revive one of the three people he cared for in the world, Sakura, before her chakra faded away completely.

* * *

_Outside the gates of Konohagukare - ROOT headquarters, before Team Kakashi leaves on the rescue mission_

"I greatly appreciate your response to my summons at such short notice, Hatake-san. You will find that this meeting will not be time wasted."

"I am but a servant to the village, Danzo-sama. So I would be derelict in my duty if I were to ignore your summons," Kakashi countered with gritted teeth.

"Well said, well said. Now, if I understand correctly from my sources, Naruto has been kidnapped by the Akatsuki in Kumo. As you surely know, that is a huge loss to the village's military preparedness, and is a security threat to the entire Fire Country."

When Kakashi did not reply, Danzo merely blinked at him with his lone eye and motioned to the shadows. Immediately, a ROOT soldier appeared with a scroll and handed it over to Danzo. After motioning the soldier away with another wave of the hand, Danzo sat down heavily on the throne-like structure in the center of the room and sighed.

"I think this story may be a little too ancient for you, Kakashi-san, but history is one of the greatest teachers in such situations. My sensei was the Nidaime Hokage, and I was there on the ground when he walked into his death at the hands of the cursed Golden and Silver Brothers of Kumo. But do you know how exactly my sensei died? He was caught unaware by the fact that both brothers were pseudo-jinchuuriki, and didn't have enough chakra to keep up with their inexhaustible stamina. There was also another legendary shinobi, Hanzo the Salamander, who…"

At this moment, Kakashi cut in, "What is your point, if I may ask? I would really enjoy these stories, Danzo-sama, at some other time. I have been assigned to a mission by the Hokage, and my team is waiting outside to start as soon as possible."

"Ah, of course, Kakashi-san," Danzo said with a smile on his face. "As I told you before, I have no intention of wasting your time. But bear with me for a few minutes - I promise you will find that what I have to say is worthwhile. To paraphrase Hanzo's story, he was such an exemplary shinobi that he had almost killed the Sannin during our fight with Ame in the Second Shinobi War. I have had the pleasure of allying with him over common interests that used to face our villages in the past. But again, he was murdered a decade ago by a trained assassin. Do you see the common link between the two figures, Kakashi-san?"

Again, Kakashi did not answer. 'What the hell is he playing at?' he wondered as Danzo continued unperturbed, "Both of these figures, fearsome shinobi as they were, lacked information, Kakashi-san. They lacked the true details of their biggest threats, and were moving along blindly when faced against them. What decides our position at the top of the shinobi world is the vital intelligence which helps us be ready to stand against impending threats, and not being blindsided."

"Again, Danzo-sama, I don't really understand what you want of me."

"I have two directives for you on your impending mission, Kakashi-san, which I have discussed with the other village elders, and we believe an ex-ANBU like yourself is uniquely capable of discussing. And this rescue mission of yours can be perfectly suited for them. Firstly, we want you to kill Sasuke Uchiha, should you encounter him on the journey. And we have credible intel that you will indeed encounter him."

Kakashi's jawline (thankfully covered by his mask) considerably tightened on hearing this. "You do realize that Naruto and Sakura have been trying to bring him back for over a year and a half, don't you? He might be a missing-nin, but how is he related to my mission of rescuing Naruto?"

"Ah, Kakashi-san, you do not seem to understand my meaning. Did you know that Sasuke killed Orochimaru and is on the loose now?" On seeing Kakashi's stricken face, Danzo gave a small smile and continued, "He is a full-fledged murderer, the threat we have not accounted for. The Akatsuki, the other villages are all objects we have prepared for, but Sasuke Uchiha may be the reason we suffer numerous casualties because we were blindsided. On the other hand, do you want me to tell you what I truly think about your rescue mission? It's a lost cause. If Itachi Uchiha is truly the one who captured Naruto, with all due respect, your team stands no chance. I am currently in discussion with the elders and the Hokage about potential methods to get Naruto back, so for now, I am relying on you to faithfully execute the directive. Remember your oath as a jounin, Kakashi-san!"

Kakashi's face had turned carefully blank, to hide any emotion he was feeling. "I understand, Danzo-sama." With that he got up and bowed slightly, "can I take my leave now?"

"You may, Kakashi-san, you may. But there was another small matter before you leave."

Kakashi stood still as the soft sound of footfalls appeared near the exit, and he was face to face with a young, pale boy, no more than sixteen in age, with a ROOT insignia emblazoned on his forehead protector.

"This is Sai, Kakashi-san. I have informed the Hokage that he is to accompany your team on this mission as an additional member. I wish you and your team the very best of luck on your upcoming journey, and the execution of the directives we just agreed to. Godspeed."


	8. Interlude

*****Ok guys - so to release this chapter like this was not in my original plans, because there were a lot of other moving parts to the plot which I wanted to add to the chapter. What I've written so far is more of a drabble (a very long one of course) than a chapter - which is why I've titled this chapter as an "interlude". I think whenever chapters focus on conversations between just two or three characters, I will put it in the form of interludes - they will often serve as ways to remove misconceptions between characters, or break the ice between them, and I must say, such chapters won't really add much plotwise. But when I saw that this had already gone for 6500 words, I said what the hell, might as well post it now rather than a jumbo chapter two weeks later. Let me know if this was a good idea, and hope you all are doing well.*****

Images of Itachi stabbing her stomach repeatedly even as he pinned her arms together at an ungodly angle flashed through Sakura's mind repeatedly. "Trade Sasuke's pain, and I will let him live," Itachi had proclaimed, and Sakura had agreed without hesitating. Needless to say, it seemed Itachi was keeping his end of the deal. But Sakura found that after the first few flays with the tanto, the pain had slowly receded to numbness, her body broken too much for her mind to keep up. So it had started wandering to issues and memories from without, and she encouraged this, even if she knew that these were the symptoms of a person who was about to cross the line to the other side.

The first thing that she thought about was the instantaneous agreement she had just made with Itachi, essentially bartering her life for Sasuke's. Why had she done that? Why did she care so much about Sasuke's fate? Was it out of some hidden love for Sasuke? No, that wasn't possible, because she had brought herself to firmly believe that Sasuke was no longer the dashing, proficient prodigy she had lost ever since the night at the bench. He was a stone cold murderer, massacring hundreds of innocent people around the Shinobi nations under Orochimaru's aegis. If there was one belief Sakura had imbibed as a young medical shinobi, it was that every life was worth waging a war for, and after hearing Samui's graphic descriptions of Sasuke's victims, she had thrown up in revulsion, and could not forgive him, let alone allow any lingering affection for him.

Was it then for Naruto's sake, to satiate his obsessive desire to return Sasuke back to the light? Again, she couldn't really agree fully with that assessment. Yes, Naruto was her friend, the only friend who had cared enough to check up on her regularly, and she was indebted to him for that, but that was not the reason she was so invested in bringing Sasuke back to Konoha. It was far more personal. She realized that over the course of their missions, Team 7 had become the axis around which her life revolved. Sasuke had become her family, wittingly or not, and it fell upon her, as much as it did on Naruto, to bring Sasuke back to the right path. The only problem was that it took her to be on the brink of death to get this clarity of thought. If there was a chance Sasuke could come back if she took on his physical pain, she wanted to stay alive, to get at least one chance to persuade Sasuke.

Amidst these thoughts, as she struggled mentally to keep her consciousness, Sakura found that her body's pain, so far a distant issue, was slowly returning with renewed vigor. The image of Itachi was slowly blurring away, the surroundings were changing ever so slightly away from the monastery, and a strong hand, which had gripped her waist painfully, was guiding her to someplace away from the intense heat of the flames all around. The pain soon became overwhelming - her body seemed like it had been set on fire, and was giving up with every passing second - so there was little she could do but finally give in to the sweet reprieve of unconsciousness.

* * *

When Sakura opened her eyes she saw that an old woman was dabbing her forehead very gently with the lukewarm rag. Her entire body ached, she could barely move her arms and the dull throbbing in her stomach carried with it a constant, nagging pain.

"Now, now, dear, don't try to move yet. With the state you arrived in, you need at least a couple of weeks rest before you can leave this bed. But it's wonderful that you are finally awake. Are you feeling hungry?"

As her senses slowly returned to her, Sakura looked around in disbelief and confusion. She was in a neat little spartan room decorated with flowers by the ceiling, and a large _kotatsu_ in the corner. As she kept switching her gaze from the smiling face in front of her to her surroundings, the panic slowly started to build up, and almost immediately, Sakura started demanding answers from the old woman, even as she struggled to get to her feet.

"What happened at the monastery? Where am I? Why are you helping me? Where is Naruto? Please, tell me he is alive - he must be…" she trailed off, as she remembered the events of the night in more detail. 'Shit - Itachi really did a number on me,' she thought miserably. 'He must have used a genjutsu to distract me with an image of Sasuke, while kidnapping Naruto before my very eyes.' But what she couldn't reconcile was how real the pain felt, and the numerous physical injuries she was nursing. 'Did he attack me during the whole ordeal? Ugh, everything is so fuzzy right now - I need to think straight.'

"It's okay, my dear, although I must say that I am as much in the dark as well on the matter of how you sustained injuries of this nature. But I'm very pleased to see you in your senses. The fact that you were out for two days was a tad worrisome."

"Was I unconscious for two days?" Sakura grimaced at the thought. She must have been more injured than she thought. Sure enough, a quick glance down her body revealed numerous bandages, casts on her right arm and shoulder and rigid wooden bars like an armour placed to support her broken ribs. She suddenly felt embarrassed at her lack of manners. "Thank you so much for taking care of me. I don't really know how I can express my debt of gratitude."

"Nonsense, my dear. It is my job to heal you - you are currently in a healing house at Samuri. If there is someone you should thank, it is the young man who brought you here when he did. Another hour without treatment, and it could have been very difficult for you, especially with the amount of blood you had lost."

Sakura's blood ran cold on hearing this. She strained to raise her head above the weights on her ribs, but to no avail. There was no young man she could think of who could save at the monastery, barring one person, and she could not believe that he had helped her. Wasn't he a missing nin who was a traitor? Pushing these thoughts aside, she whispered to the old woman, shaking in trepidation at her answer. "Could you tell me who brought me here?"

The old lady looked down sympathetically at her, no doubt thinking that she was suffering from the effects of her injuries. "Of course my dear. He did not give me a name, but he was a tall man attired in black, who himself was heavily injured. He has spiky black hair, chiseled aristocratic features and had a huge fan as the symbol on his shirt, which made me imagine he was from an influential clan in the capital. Currently he's in the other room, getting treated himself."

Sakura looked like she had seen a ghost, but quickly schooled her features to a smile. "Ah I think I remember now. Thank you so much for that information. Could I bother you with one more request?"

"Certainly my dear. I'm here to take care of you."

"I need to speak to his man urgently."

"I'll let him know. Maybe he will be able to answer some of your earlier questions."

For the life of Sakura, she could not believe the old lady. True, she had seen Sasuke arrive during her fight against Kisame, but she thought that his intention, like always, was his death match against Itachi. But the lady insisted on seeing a heavily injured man in a black cloak bring her here, and who else could have saved her from the terrible genjutsu Itachi had forced her to endure? Tsunade often talked about how the Uchiha themselves could often negate clan based jutsus, specifically ones stemming from the use of the Sharingan, so she supposed Sasuke's help was a possible explanation. But why would he even save her in the first place? If there was anything she had learnt from her time as part of Team 7, it was that Sasuke was exceedingly purposeful in any action he performed. It must have been Orochimaru who had sent him on a mission which required intel on Konoha. And for that, she, a pupil of the Hokage herself, was an ideal captive. It was a perfect plan, actually - feign help to get her goodwill, and try to extract information while holding her hostage.

For any other case, the rational part of Sakura's mind would have won this debate, and she would be already planning on ways to confront and escape her enemy. But something inside kept nagging her about this speculative, and entirely logical thought process. Could Sasuke have, against all hope, found that he cared in the slightest amount for his former team? And more broadly, had he managed to find something beyond the darkness of revenge? The absurdity of her thoughts hit her then, and she couldn't help but let out a sigh of frustration. 'What are you playing at, Sasuke?' she wondered gloomily, 'but either way, I have to be on my guard.'

As she was about to make the hand signs required for a complex concealing jutsu Tsunade taught her to prevent any enemy from gathering classified intel about Konoha, she suddenly felt a shiver run down her spine. Because standing at the door was a heavily bandaged Sasuke, a bowl in hand, looking at her blankly. He was not wearing his cloak, so the first thing Sakura noticed was the stub which was all that was left of his left arm. The second thing she observed was that he had patched up his left eye, much like Kakashi-sensei.

"Sakura…"

Quickly fighting through the sharp pang of agony which pierced through her on seeing Sasuke in such a state, she swiftly replied, "Sasuke."

Wordlessly Sasuke arrived by her bedside and set down the bowl, which seemed to contain a greenish white paste, and retreated to the stool at the foot of the bed, which had been occupied by the old lady till then. In silence both former teammates scrutinized each other, with Sakura's jade eyes flashing ever so slightly with emotion, while Sasuke's onyx eyes remained as bottomless and mysterious as ever, barely betraying anything he was feeling. After a few tense minutes, Sasuke was the first to avert his eyes, and stand up suddenly, as if he was trying very hard to keep his composure. "Eat from the bowl, Sakura - we don't have much time to lose."

"I think you lost the right to instruct me on anything a long time ago, Sasuke. Instead, why don't you tell me why you brought me here, and what you intend to do with me."

Sighing deeply, Sasuke sat down again. "I don't intend to cause you any trouble, Sakura."

Sakura looked at him incredulously. "No trouble? You actually have the gall to tell me that! After everything you've done - the thousands of people murdered under your watch…" Even as her eyes flashed with anger and she was shaking with agitation while speaking, she slowly started calming down and taking on a more resigned demeanor. "But all of that is water under the bridge, isn't it Sasuke? It doesn't matter anymore, especially now that the Akatsuki, led by your brother, has kidnapped Naruto."

"Listen, Sakura - I'm…."

"I know what you're going to say, Sasuke, so save your breath. I know you don't care, and frankly, getting you back is no longer my objective now, not after what you've become." By now Sakura was covering her face with her hands and slowly working herself back to a frenzy. "Where were you when they kidnapped Naruto? Oh, was Itachi too strong for his baby brother? You do realize that you did everything, all the way to betraying Konoha, just to become stronger, don't you? Then why the hell could you not stop Itachi, instead of becoming a hopeless cripple?"

Throughout the tirade, Sasuke kept his eyes directed pointedly at the floor, waiting for a chance to speak, but it never came. Sakura had now devolved to rocking back and forth in tears, berating herself for not being stronger to stand up to Itachi and Kisame and mumbling incoherently, even as she was shaking uncontrollably. Unable to restrain himself any longer, Sasuke stood up and grasped Sakura by the shoulders, instantly quieting the pinkette.

"Sakura, listen to me. Stop this. Now." Sasuke said firmly, even as she took gulps of air while trying to regain some control over herself.

"I know the dobe was taken, but whining about it is not going to change anything. I can help you, but only after you're fit enough. Here, take this," he said while handing her the bowl. "This is a frankincense and neem mix - and should help with your wounds." On seeing a fleeting look of suspicion on Sakura's face, he hastened to explain further. "You were hit by a genjutsu I've never seen before - most likely it's one of Itachi's own creations. I don't know what he showed you, but this genjutsu seems to have caused physical damage. Combined with the beating you took from Kisame, it's a miracle you're alive. And if you want to stay conscious, you have to stop crying and eat this - it'll ease some of the pain your muscles are in right now."

Sakura looked at Sasuke dumbfounded, tear marks smearing her face. Was this the same taciturn, emotionally stunted boy who had left her by the bench that night? Certainly not. But something he had just said perplexed her further.

"What do you mean - his genjutsu caused physical damage? That's impossible."

"It's a long story, Sakura. And I'll tell you only if you eat up first."

Sakura reluctantly accepted the bowl proffered to her, took a gulp of the paste and almost immediately gagged in disgust. "What the hell, Sasuke! Are you trying to rob me of taste forever?" But to his relief, she did not make a move to discard the bowl.

"Well, I'm listening - go on," she said impatiently, grimacing with pain as she tried to glare at him. "And while you're at it, pray tell me how you became a cripple."

Sasuke winced slightly at the derision dripping from Sakura's voice, but forged on nonetheless. He had to alert her to the severity of the situation. "It's not that impossible. Genjutsu, in some cases, is not limited to psychological effects. Think about it, Sakura - Itachi must have shown you something which caused you to harm yourself. The weapons were his, yes, but you stabbed yourself, dislocated your own shoulder, and brought yourself to the brink of death."

Images of the crucified Sasuke, and her acquiescence with Itachi's demands of physical pain flashed before her mind. She knew that some portion of that scene was a genjutsu, but she truly believed that it was Itachi who wounded her, not her own hands. She stiffly nodded in his direction, signaling for Sasuke to continue.

"Itachi's genjutsu prowess is on another level. You surely knew that, and I witnessed it first-hand at the hideout you and Naruto were in. If you were not ready to counter him, why did you go into a head on battle with him? What did you expect would happen - that you'd stop him from taking the dobe? Give me a break, Tsunade must have taught you better," Sasuke said, getting more agitated as he spoke. Realizing this, he quickly schooled his expression, and finished his tirade with a quiet whisper of "Sakura, you could have died."

Throughout her shinobi life, however, Sakura had been on the receiving end of speeches like this. As part of team 7, she had always viewed herself through the lens of her team - as its weakest link. She had neither the innate battle genius of Sasuke, nor the raw chakra of Naruto, and so was discounted by both her first teacher, Kakashi and the rest of the Rookie 9. Was it because she was a girl, and due to the sheer frailties attached with the female sex, kunoichi could not catch up to their male counterparts? Or was it because unlike Sasuke and Naruto, she was lucky to still have loving parents who were alive and well, rendering the moniker "adversity begets success" true? She had thought long about this (with as much nuance as a teen could muster), but found that she couldn't really pinpoint the exact reason. However, the constant downplaying of her capabilities, which only accentuated post the incident where Sasuke had thrown her on the bench and escaped Konoha, had dealt a devastating blow to her morale.

It was breaking this constant cycle of self-deprecation which made her time with Tsunade so much more meaningful. Tsunade was the first to bluntly tell her that shinobi were to be judged based on their skills, and skills alone. Extraneous factors like sex and age were just excuses for the weak, she would say. Training with her _shishou_ had afforded Sakura the first real taste of what being strong actually meant - it wasn't having the most devastating ninjutsu attack, or the most lethal taijutsu combination. Real strength stemmed from having pride in her abilities, the power to hold her head high with pride on the fact that she was no less than any of her peers. This newfound self-confidence meant that Sakura was not, indeed never would be, ready again to hear patronizing speeches like the one Sasuke was giving her.

Jade eyes flashing defiantly, Sakura slowly returned the bowl to the bedside table. "Don't speak of my training when you know nothing, Sasuke," she said icily. "I am not the weak, besotted girl you left behind. While you went off cavorting with traitors and learning how to dehumanize yourself with murder, I found that there were things better than slaving to seek your, or for that matter, anyone else's approval. I used to think Naruto was stupid for droning on about his 'ninja way', but over the past few years, I think I have got some clarity over what I want from being a shinobi. My strength is useful only if I protect my loved ones, otherwise it has no meaning. So if I could confront Itachi, even with the smallest chance of saving Naruto as the result, I would do it again, life be damned. And I find it ironic that I am being given advice on staying safe from a person who literally maimed his left arm and eye."

Throughout the outpouring of emotion from Sakura, Sasuke stared fixedly at the ground, guilt coursing through his veins. Hearing the bitterness and frustration in her voice was a stark reminder that even without some of the darkest moments of his life, he had still committed enough sins to ruin the lives of a lot of people. In another life, he would have walked away from any uncomfortable conversation and shut himself off from everybody, but this situation was different - a second chance for him to do things differently. And he intended to make his meaning as clear as possible to Sakura, something he had failed to do miserably to the Sakura (and the dobe) in his timeline.

So he started his apology with the only way he knew - through actions, not words. Sakura was suddenly confronted with three tomoes spinning hypnotically, and found herself transported back to that fateful night by the bench, when life as she knew it had come crashing down. She could see the silhouettes of the two of them in the dark, in precisely the same manner they appeared in countless nightmares in the intervening years. 'Here we go again,' Sakura thought with a grimace, even as the present-day Sasuke was nowhere to be seen. 'He's going to make me relive my weakest and most embarrassing moment again.'

But there was something different about this genjutsu. The more Sakura observed the younger Sasuke, right from his insults of her being annoying, upto his teleportation behind her younger self's back to deliver the final chop which would make her unconscious, she could feel an immense swelling of grief, pain and fear mixed together. Sakura looked around bewildered - she had rarely felt emotions as intense and deep seated as this feeling, and she instantly knew that this was what the young Sasuke must have been feeling as he uttered the final "thank you." She could hardly breathe, as grief and fear hit her in waves; and she could only watch as that poor thirteen year old gently lifted the unconscious girl in his arms and laid her ever so carefully on the stone bench, onyx eyes flashing with unshed tears. She realized that this was when the true realization of leaving home was dawning upon the boy, and her heart went out to him as he trudged down the dark path into the forest, all alone, with no place left to call home - the weight of his destiny bearing down solely on his own shoulders.

The scene soon shifted to a dark room, whose one corner was lit by a fading candle. Murals of snakes and drums were adorned on whatever portion of the wall was visible, and a lone silhouette sat in the corner in an almost lifeless manner. She realized this was one of the secret Oto bases, and it was most likely Sasuke's room. Suddenly there was a series of loud knocks on the door, even as Sasuke made no effort to move. After a few repetitions, a huge Oto nin burst into the room, cackling maniacally.

"Your half-hour rest is done. Come back to Orochimaru-sama. Your training for today is in no way complete," the nin said, even as he yanked the unmoving body of Sasuke and started dragging him out of the door. To Sakura's horror, Sasuke was absolutely limp, eyes closed in resignation, till they were just outside a huge, ornate room. Suddenly he stood up and shook off the Oto nin, mustering the familiar facade of cool confidence before his interaction with Orochimaru.

"Ah, Sasuke-kun. We were getting a little worried that you were weaker than you claimed to be when you arrived a month ago. Surely you aren't tired anymore?"

"Of course not," Sasuke said with his signature smirk, although Sakura's medical acumen immediately alerted her to the visible signs of strain which he was trying to mask.

"That is encouraging to hear," Orochimaru was grinning now, and motioning to Kabuto, who immediately came up with two captives with hoods covering their faces, who were struggling against their bindings. "In that case, we can proceed to the next lesson, can't we, Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn. As long as it isn't a waste of time."

"Oh - I think you will enjoy this, Sasuke-kun. Especially if you want to grow stronger," Orochimaru said with a cackle. "The task is simple - I want to see you kill these two captives."

Unfazed, Sasuke held up his arm, and the sound of a thousand birds chirping filled the air. Sakura couldn't believe her eyes - was Sasuke really going to murder two helpless captives? If Orochimaru was correct, he had been a Konoha nin a month ago. How had he fallen so low, so quickly? But as she watched Sasuke charge, _chidori _in hand, she was again overwhelmed by a feeling of fear and surprise, which again seemed to be emanating from the young Sasuke. The feeling was so intense, so unbridled that Sakura took a step back instinctively in shock. In front of her, the _chidori _had disappeared, and the younger Sasuke was staring silently at the unmasked Naruto and Sakura, with a look of disbelief only those who knew him could catch.

At first Sakura was very confused and a little scared - because the dopplegangers ahead looked so similar to their real life counterparts. Orochimaru had taken pains to replicate the depth of a jinchuuriki in the chakra reserves of the bound 'Naruto', and the physical appearance of both members of team 7 was spot on. 'Naruto' was yelling at Sasuke about returning to Konoha, and 'Sakura' was begging him to save her. It was only with a sensory jutsu Tsunade had taught her that the present-day Sakura could be sure of their disguises, and she had no doubt that the thirteen year old boy in front of her did not see through it.

"What happened, Sasuke-kun?" Orochimaru mocked. "Surprised to see your former teammates? Well, it shouldn't be hard, should it? After all, you said you broke your bonds the moment you left Konoha."

Sasuke closed his eyes for a bit, but when he opened them, resolve marked the spinning tomoes of his Sharingan. "Of course I broke my bonds," he snarled, and reignited his _chidori_. Before Sakura could process what happened, blood splattered in front of her as the two helpless victims went limp, with gaping holes in their abdomens. Sasuke was on his knees, panting from exertion - but it seemed Orochimaru was beside himself with joy.

"Ah, I never should have doubted you, Sasuke-kun. Congratulations on passing your first test. Now you can truly realize your full potential. Kabuto, check on the corpses - we can burn them as a celebration tonight."

Kabuto quickly scurried over with a nod. "Orochimaru-sama, these two are injured, but not quite dead. It seems Sasuke-kun missed their vital points."

As quickly as it had come, Orochimaru's smile had turned into a frown. "Is that true, Sasuke-kun? Did you _miss _the vital points of both of them?"

Sasuke looked up defiantly at Orochimaru. "Hn. These two are unworthy of dying by my hands. As per our agreement, I will kill Itachi first, before I move on to other victims."

The entire room had fallen into pindrop silence. An enraged Orochimaru was highly perilous, and none of the subordinates present in the room envied Sasuke's position. "Nobody disobeys me and gets away with it," Orochimaru said slowly, eyes flashing with rage, as he disappeared in a flash and appeared at Sasuke's location, towering over him. "In this country, what I say goes - do you understand, Sasuke-kun?" By now he had captured Sasuke in a taijutsu stronghold which was almost snapping the boy's neck in two. "It's going to be the sanction room for you, Sasuke-kun. A thousand whippings should do. And remember, I will make you forget your weaknesses, whether you like it or not."

A scene change flashed by again, and Sakura found herself back at Sasuke's room in Oto, only to see him lying on the floor, unmoving. A pang of pain hit her heart when she saw the numerous red marks which littered his bare back. On one side, the skin had peeled off over a sizable area to expose the raw flesh, most likely a result of repeated whippings at the same spot. Sasuke's body was twitching occasionally, and he was mumbling something repeatedly, as if he was in a delirium. This sight sickened Sakura, and she was doing everything in her power to stop herself from vomiting in revulsion at the goriness on display. She did not know if she could take much more of this genjutsu.

Just as she was about to yell out to the present day Sasuke to release her from this mental hell, she felt a strong hand grasp her right shoulder. Gasping, she turned around to see mismatched eyes look at her with a tenderness she had never thought Sasuke could possess, even as the scenario shifted back to the bench outside Konoha.

"It's over, Sakura - don't worry. We can return back now."

Sakura nodded in relief, but even as Sasuke released her shoulder, she turned around and grasped his lone arm. "Wait. Before we leave, I want to know what you were saying in the last scene."

Sasuke tilted his head in embarrassment, even as he looked slightly uncomfortable at Sakura's touch. "That is not important to the message I was trying to get across, Sakura."

"No, I insist - mainly because you made me live through your suffering in Oto. Can I see the last scene again, please?"

Letting out a deep sigh, Sasuke assented, and soon they were back in front of a heavily injured Sasuke on the brink of unconsciousness. His voice was shaking with emotion, although it was obviously muted. "I almost killed them, Kaa-san… had to break all ties. I'm so tired… need to avenge you, as well as Otou-san… had to do this to get stronger and beat Itachi… couldn't bring myself to do it. Forgive me."

Sakura's eyes filled with tears as the genjutsu finally ended, and she felt really bad for intruding on that last memory, which was obviously very personal to Sasuke. "I'm so sorry-" she started, but was quickly cut off by the latter.

"There is nothing you have to apologize for, Sakura. It was my choice to show you all of this."

"But why?" Sakura couldn't prevent herself from blurting out.

"I have changed since we last met, Sakura, but I wanted to show you that things haven't been as easy for me as you believe. Over my time in Oto, I slowly realized that taking revenge on my brother won't undo the damage already inflicted upon my clan. And it took me this to understand that I'm not the one who would change my clan's destiny" Sasuke said cryptically, pointing to the stump of his left hand. "Maybe someday you'll be in a better position to understand. Today, however, I wanted to show you that even though I did not enjoy many of my prior choices, I have finally made peace with my role in this world. Orochimaru is dead, at least seriously injured at this moment, so it is my full intention to help you get the dobe back."

Now that Sasuke had opened up, Sakura had a million questions to ask him. What were his intentions now, and why was he going to help her (and Konoha by extension)? What happened to Orochimaru, and how did he escape from Oto? And why was he just so different from the last time they met? It seemed that Sasuke had aged so much more than the one and half years which had passed, which often was on full display when his lone eye would occasionally flash with untold grief as he spoke.

As if he could read her mind, Sasuke stood up and smirked. "You have to rest Sakura, the genjutsu took a lot out of you. But I will allow one more question, if you promise to rest afterwards."

Sakura pondered for a bit, trying to think of a question that could extract a lot of information from Sasuke. "Alright, Sasuke…"

"Kun."

Sakura couldn't believe she heard what she thought Sasuke said, "I beg your pardon?"

"I don't like repeating myself, Sakura. You would call me Sasuke-kun, right? I want you to stick to that," Sasuke said softly, looking steadfastly at the ground.

For some reason, these words filled Sakura with a warmth she had never really felt ever since Team 7 disbanded. "Okay, Sasuke-kun," she said, emphasizing the long-disused suffix (even as she felt a newfound enjoyment in his "tch" of irritation), "how come I could feel the emotions of your younger self in the genjutsu? It was as if they were my own feelings. And what did you do to your left eye? I remember it being purplish in the genjutsu, and I don't recall studying such a visual appearance before."

Sasuke looked up, eyes slightly widened in surprise, but quickly schooled his expression. This was something he had hoped to tackle sometime later, and once again he cursed Hagoromo for the Rinnegan, as it invariably amplified the effect of any genjutsu he cast, especially to one as precocious as Sakura. Mustering up the ghost of a smirk again, he said, "Not bad, Sakura. It seems Kakashi was not completely off the mark when he said you had an affinity to genjutsu. My left eye has been damaged, and I have lost the Sharingan." Ignoring Sakura's gasp of surprise, he quickly started walking towards the door. "Unfortunately that's all I will tell you, at least for now. Maybe another time."

"What? But you said you'd answer my questions. No fair, Sasuke-kun - come back!"

Sasuke couldn't help but tilt his lips upwards at this childish behavior even as he turned around - a lifetime of suffering and dark deeds had led his mind to preclude the fact that they were all teenagers, and that this was in fact, the normal behavior at his age. Suddenly nostalgia washed over him as he remembered his incessant bickerings with Naruto over the most trivial matters. During his years of penance and solitude, he had often thought about the bond he and the dobe shared as brothers, and he had realized long ago that it was the persistence of Naruto and the blonde's stubborn resolve to get him back which had prevented him from descending into insanity. Just as he was about to sternly tell Sakura to go back to sleep, his Rinnegan throbbed within his eyepatch with such intensity that he almost collapsed on his knees.

"Sasuke-kun! Are you ok?" yelled Sakura, as she tried to unsuccessfully get up and come to Sasuke's aid. Her shout was loud enough for the old lady to come bustling into the room in a few minutes and immediately fuss over the visibly struggling Sasuke, who shrugged her off even as he managed to scramble to his feet shakily. Ever since he arrived at this small village in Kumo a couple of days ago, he knew it was not going to be safe for long, and he could feel a very powerful chakra signature approaching, one so mighty and agitated that he did not believe he could take the person on in his depleted state. But to buy Sakura time he would have to confront this shinobi, weakened or not, and his mind was in a blur, thinking of the ways he would approach this situation, especially if the said person was an enemy shinobi. After steadying his breathing, he started to walk out to the door slowly. At its entrance, he stopped and turned around, "You have to stay inside Sakura, till I come back - there's danger approaching, and you're not strong enough to take it on."

Sakura immediately perked up on hearing the word danger, and to his amazement, enveloped herself with a greenish hue - the same healing chakra, he remembered so vividly, that had embalmed him in the aftermath of his final battle with Naruto at the Forest of Death. "If there's impending danger, Sasuke-kun, then I want a part of it too. I'm no longer weak - nor do I want you to carry my burden."

Sasuke was absolutely flabbergasted, because Sakura was acting so stupidly now. Expending her own chakra instead of replenishing it? In a heavily injured state, using up any extra chakra could be fatal, and Sakura didn't seem to be paying any attention to the massive amount of chakra which was leaking out of her visage. If anything, it seemed like she was exerting herself more to heal her wounds. Irritation seemed to get the better of Sasuke as he let out a roar and roughly grabbed Sakura by her throat and pushed her back on the bed.

"Enough, Sakura! Stop this madness. Are you fucking stupid, or what? I always thought you were smart, but what I've seen of you recently has deeply disappointed me. Who the hell do you think you've become, to be tangling with the Akatsuki, literally getting broken in two both physically and psychologically, and then wasting whatever little of your remaining chakra on useless stuff? You're not strong enough for all of this, and you know it. What are you trying to prove here? That you're the future Tsunade?" Sakura had instantly quieted down at Sasuke's outburst, and was looking shell shocked at his berations. On the other hand, Sasuke was furious, and did not seem to notice that his grip on her throat had tightened considerably.

"Do you want to die? Is that what you want? To kill yourself? Because if you are…" he stopped abruptly as he realized that Sakura's breathing was slowly getting labored, and he instantly snatched his hand away, as if he had burnt himself. He shut his eyes in disgust, as the memories at the Land of Iron flashed around like they were occurring in real time. Without a word he got up, with the full intention of leaving, but he could not shake off the bile that was accumulating inside due to his utter self-loathing at his loss of control. He had led a life of repeatedly harming Sakura and never really expressing any remorse for his misdeeds, his cruelty, because of his penchant for dodging uncomfortable conversations. But this time, he believed Sakura deserved better, and he had vowed not to get misunderstood this time around. So again, he stopped at the door, and addressed a visibly crushed Sakura.

"That being said, I'm proud of you, Sakura. Not many could have taken what you did so easily."

Sakura, who had curled up in her bed in a defensive posture, turned around in disbelief, not caring for the stab of pain coursing through her ribs on account of the sudden motion. "What was that?"

"I said I'm proud of the way you stood up to the Akatsuki, Sakura. But," Sasuke paused, and looked up, his lone eye flashing with an emotion Sakura could not pinpoint, "next time, you must pick your fights carefully - if not for yourself, at least for those who care for you. Now take your rest - I will be back as soon as the danger passes."


	9. Chapter 9

***** Alright - here's the next chapter guys. Again, not exactly to my liking, but the best I could do amidst all of my schoolwork and thesis writing. Got my first set of negative reviews for the last chapter, but the other comments which were overflowing with love and support really helped. So reviews are always appreciated, because they give me the motivation to keep churning out 'em chapters!**

**EDIT: Things are definitely going to come to a head in the next chapter - I'm mostly done with Sasuke's "adjustment phase" in this new world, and things will soon have to give. I'm not sure if I want to put the entire rollercoaster into one big chapter (or split it up into two smaller chapters). Either way, comment and let me know - you're views will help me frame my plan ASAP.*****

_Drip….drip...drip_

"Hey Kurenai - do we have to wait in this dingy place?" whispered Asuma, not liking the damp smell emanating from the leaking pipes around him. "Where the hell did Kakashi disappear to?"

Kurenai sent Asuma one of her deadliest glares, as the alleyway was so cramped that Asuma speaking meant he was literally breathing down her neck. Somehow the darkness around them accentuated the terrifying effect of those ruby red eyes. "Shut up, you idiot," she hissed. "We're in official Kumo territory now without clearance, so if we're caught then all hell will break loose." But in the back of her mind, she was thinking the same thing. Kakashi had left them with strict orders of concealment more than an hour ago, and her thoughts had started wandering. A team of three elite jounin was as rare as shinobi teams could get, and were usually employed by the Hidden Villages only for the means of extremely sophisticated missions, like the assasination of a Kage. In fact, the last two times such a team was in action over the last half-century, the results were disastrous - the standoff between Hanzo the Salamander and the Sannin had killed more than a thousand shinobi, and the Gold-Silver brother duo along with ten Kumo jounin had assassinated the Nidaime Hokage. So when Tsunade had summoned her and Asuma and ordered them to accompany Kakashi to a diplomatic mission in Kumo, she was understandably perplexed. And Kakashi's minor skirmish with Danzo did little to ease her mind.

Right from the start of the journey, she had felt highly uneasy, as if something dreadful was impending. Kakashi had taken a diplomatic scroll from Tsunade to "hand-deliver" to the Raikage - that had been the official aim of this mission. But the real goal of course was to intercept Itachi and Kisame before they reached the mountains near Ame, where the Akatsuki supposedly had a base, according to Jiraiya's sources. But they were not privy to the route Itachi had taken, so Jiraiya had informed their team through a messenger frog that he had set up a meeting with a conduit in Kumo in a day's time to provide a clearer picture. The Toad Sage, meanwhile, would try to catch up with Itachi and Kisame based on any new information he obtained, and hold them off till the jounin team arrived.

The frog had also relayed intel of rumors that Sasuke Uchiha had been sighted near the Kaminari Den. At this Kakashi had turned pale, and even after the messenger had departed, remained morose. Eventually Kurenai's verbal lashings had snapped him out of it, and he then decided that the original mission had to be amended. They were going to blitz through the Kaminari region to meet Jiraiya's conduit, and then attempt to intercept Itachi on the outskirts of Kumo. Kakashi's failure to even acknowledge his former student's presence was definitely surprising to her, but the flash of emotion that passed through his lone eye did not go unnoticed by either her or Asuma. One thing became clear, however - this mission had changed from diplomatic to top secret, and the jounin would have to now hide their true identities in the Land of Lightning.

She thought they were doing a decent enough job disguising their appearance in Kumo, but ever since Kakashi had left to gather more information from a dingy bar in the red-light district they were currently passing, she was not feeling easy in her mind. Being a genjutsu mistress, her instincts had always been honed to the sharpest levels, and years of experience had taught her to expect the unexpected when she felt this way. So when she found Kakashi being frog marched out of the bar by three hooded shinobi wearing Kumo forehead protectors, she immediately steeled herself for an upcoming confrontation, and felt Asuma do the same. The three Konoha jounin had decided on a subtle shake of the head to indicate the need for backup, but Kakashi was surprisingly not showing any inclination towards it. Instead, he appeared to be walking sanguinely towards their location.

"Kurenai, Asuma. You guys can come out now," Kakashi called out cheerily. "We have found some valuable allies."

Kurenai glanced over at Asuma, who merely shrugged at her. She too could not find any weapons on the shinobi which were ready to attack them. So they made themselves visible, looking guardedly at the Kumo nin, as their 'leader' seemed to step forward and greet them with an extended hand.

"Ah Kurenai-san, Asuma-san. It is an honor to meet both of you. My name is Darui, and I am an advisor to the Raikage. Kakashi-san was just filling me in on the diplomatic mission the Hokage has sent you on, and my team and I would love to escort you."

Again Kakashi nodded in vehement agreement, and Kurenai was starting to see the strained features behind his exuberance. Clearly Kakashi's act was a clever ruse to prevent their expulsion from Kumo, and both Konoha jounin immediately latched onto it.

"It's a pleasure, Darui-san. We are more than happy to oblige any laws of the land, though we were just passing by to meet one of the Hokage's medical contacts in Kumo. We would also not want any mission or work you are currently undertaking to fall behind on our account."

Darui gave her a piercing look, but did not stop smiling. "Ah, but it is no problem at all. The boss has told us to investigate certain happenings in the Kaminari region, and from what Kakashi-san said, you appear to be heading in that direction as well. So it is only obvious that we should move together, as _friendly_ shinobi do - is it not, Kurenai-san? We on no account want to appear as _dull_ hosts."

Kurenai bristled at the not-so-hidden smug tone, but before she could retort, Kakashi cut her off.

"As I said, Darui-san, we agree to your offer of accompanying us to the Kaminari region. But time is of the essence in our mission," Kakashi said, exuberance replaced with startling seriousness. Giving a short nod in Kurenai and Asuma's direction, he turned back towards the Kumo nin. "So whether you come with us or not, we are leaving immediately."

* * *

"This is too dangerous, Danzo. There is no way you are even thinking of this," Koharu protested.

"It pains me to say this, but Koharu is right here. You're playing with fire, and Konoha will get burnt as a result," Homura intoned ominously.

The antechamber where the Council frequently met to discuss village matters was eerily dark, and the shadows emanating from the flickering lamps made Danzo more sinister. "Koharu, Homura - we have known each other for more than four decades. For all of my sins, both of you know that harming Konoha is not one of them. You have always backed me when tough decisions had to be made for the greater good - and your support is absolutely needed for this pact," he said, lone eye flashing with determination.

Homura looked down at the parchment on the table in front of them. The dreaded "Red Cloud" on it shone prominently, as if daring him to disagree with Danzo's assessment and reject the offer it contained. Once upon a time that Cloud had represented the symbol that would stop the rain of blood that fell on Amegakure. But as with all organizations with a noble start, the Akatsuki had somewhere lost sight of its founding ideals, and the symbol that was supposed to represent hope and justice to the downtrodden inspired fear and loathing in today's world. Taking a deep breath to control his sense of revulsion, Homura looked at Danzo again.

"To be clear, you are suggesting that Konoha allies with the Akatsuki?"

Koharu visibly flinched at that. "This has gone too far, Danzo. I cannot believe we are discussing this. The Akatsuki is an organization of the worst forms of criminals. Can you imagine what people would think of us, especially the shinobi in our village? And have you forgotten the Hokage? Not only will she veto any such decision on our part, but she will have obtained enough information to disband the Council and throw us in prison. Need I remind you of how mistrustful she is of us?"

Danzo, who appeared in deep thought throughout Koharu's venting, suddenly stood up, chakra flaring uncontrollably. Homura and Koharu shrank back immediately - it was never a wise idea to be on the wrong side of Danzo's temper, if you were not the Sandaime Hokage.

"I asked you both to look at this from an objective point of view, but it seems you are incapable. So let me break it down to you in terms of the bigger picture."

As Danzo's chakra stabilized slowly, the other two elders slowly returned to their chairs with a wary look on their eyes.

"Koharu, how many wars have we fought over the last decade?"

"One each with every Hidden Village, not including the recent invasion by Suna."

Danzo nodded. "And Homura, can you identify the single biggest reason why the other villages targeted us?"

Homura shrugged unsurely. "Because of our land?"

"Wrong."

"Our superior shinobi who posed a threat to them?"

"Wrong."

"I don't know what you're trying to get at, Danzo."

Danzo glared back at him in disdain. "That's to be expected, Homura - you never were one to see the bigger picture. The reason why other villages have targeted us is because of our assets - things we have that they want desperately. And our biggest asset today is our stability. The Uchiha, our last true weak link, are gone. We are a thriving village today, Homura, and everything is going according to the vision we laid out after the massacre. But there is only one thing that can disrupt our prosperity."

"I suppose you are talking about the Nine-Tails," Koharu muttered.

Danzo smiled. "That is correct. The jinchuuriki has the ability to make or break our stability right now. The power of the Nine-Tails is the safeguard to our peace. As long as we have that weapon, we are safe. And you see now why we need this pact with the Akatsuki. Make no mistake, this is not an alliance - their 'Leader' clearly states as much in the parchment. They promise to hold off on capturing the Nine-Tails till they capture the other Tailed Beasts, and we get the much needed time to train the jinchuuriki to use the Nine-Tails' power so that when the time comes, the Akatsuki cannot capture him. So think of this as a non-aggression pact between us, nothing more."

Koharu bit her lips, seemingly contemplating what Danzo just said. "What you say makes some sense, although I'm not sure about trusting a criminal organization to keep a bargain. What do the Akatsuki want in return for holding off on capturing Naruto?"

Danzo's smile turned into a slight grimage on hearing this. "They want us to help them capture the remainder of the Tailed Beasts from the other villages."

Koharu's eyes widened in shock while Homura sputtered indignantly about how old age had eliminated Danzo's common sense. "And you think the Hokage is going to allow that? Konoha will become the pariah of the Elemental Nations, and the Council will lose all its credibility," they cried out in unison, unable to mask their shock.

"Ah, my dear Koharu and Homura," Danzo said with a smirk, "you have no need to worry. Do you remember when we made a pact with Hanzo the Salamander to stop the young renegades in Ame, despite technically being in the midst of the Third Shinobi War?"

Koharu nodded slowly, unsure where this was heading.

"Well, those revolutionaries were under a group called the Akatsuki. Now do you see why we are in a position of strength while dealing with them?"

It was then that Koharu started understanding Danzo's masterplan, or at least grasping its basics. They had tons of intel on the Akatsuki's initial foundations, and when this was combined with all of Itachi's intel on its current leadership (which was highly irregular and erratic, but very useful), they would have a good idea of who they were dealing with. And for all of their bravado, the Akatsuki needed some political capital to efficiently capture all Tailed Beasts - and a non-aggression pact with Konoha would ensure that they could focus on jinchuurikis in weaker villages without having to worry about having to confront Konoha shinobi, who might be called as backup by these villages. On the other hand, Naruto would be returned to the village, which was absolutely critical at this time.

Just at this time Homura interrupted her thoughts. "But how are you sure they will keep their word? They are a bunch of criminals, after all."

The smile on Danzo's face widened. "As I said, my fellow elders, you have nothing to worry about. We hold all the cards in this transaction - the Akatsuki will have no choice but to accept what we offer them, on our terms."

The shadows in the room leapt around with the flickering lights, as if trying to escape Danzo's gaze as he slowly looked down upon his bandaged right arm. "And in case there are any hiccups, I assure you that I have methods of forcing them to bend to Konoha's will. So in the meantime, all I ask of you is support for this pact. Leave the rest to me, and like always, you will not be disappointed in the results."

* * *

Sasuke had waited all night for the impending arrival of the enemy nin, but the high chakra fluctuations his Rinnegan had detected seemed to have vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. 'Am I becoming paranoid?' he thought, even as his Rinnegan throbbed with gusto, offering him no reprieve from the stress he was currently feeling. For some reason, he had not acted upon his primary instinct of just leaving Sakura under the old lady's care and making a beeline to rescue Naruto after that fleeting sense of a disruptive chakra approaching.

There were too many variables in this new world which did not exist in his previous experience. Sasori going after the Two-Tails, Naruto's mission in the Lightning Country, Itachi being sent to retrieve the Nine Tails and Kumo's underhanded tactics to learn more about the Nine-Tail seal were all unique to this timeline. He had also no idea how to get backup to confront the Akatsuki, as Itachi had suggested - and he was slowly starting to interpret the last conversation he had with his brother as more of an assurance that Naruto will be safe for some time under Itachi's watch.

It was during this line of thought that he realized how much he missed having a team in this new world. Throughout his previous life, he always had three people by his side who would happily sacrifice their lives in his place, despite the ever increasing darkness which had consumed him. How was Karin doing holed up in her confined base? Were Suigetsu and Juugo still held prisoner? He knew that both of these questions, most likely, had affirmative answers - and let out a sigh of helplessness. He needed to find and convince others to join him, and that too quickly, before it became futile. The only problem was that he did not know where to start.

The leaves rustled around him, and to his surprise, he found that while being lost in thought, he had strayed well beyond the village boundaries into the woods nearby. And the worst thing about letting his guard down was that he wasn't alone, and instead was a sitting duck to his opponent.

"Storm Release: Laser Circus"

A thunderous roar was heard from behind him, and it took all of Sasuke's speed to sidestep a humongous chakra beam charging towards him like a missile. To his horror, he realized that this was the infamous "Storm Release" , which combined water and lightning chakra to effectively electrocute and fatally maim the receiver. Before he could turn around to face his attacker, he suddenly felt a tug on his right eye, and by the time he cut the string which had attached itself to his eyelid, his eye was burning uncontrollably.

Starting to panic, he quickly jumped backwards into the cover of a few trees, trying to activate his Sharingan to see his opponent's movements more clearly. But alas, it seemed that his enemy was a step ahead of him, for try as he might, he could not access the Sharingan anymore.

Kurenai, on the other hand, smirked to herself with satisfaction. After all, gifts from the Hyuuga clan were extremely rare, but often very useful. And the kekkei-genkai sealing technique, gifted to her by Hiashi Hyuuga for teaching Hinata to control her Byakyugan, was no exception. She watched Sasuke fall to his knees, seemingly in tremendous pain as he clutched his right eye. This was all going to plan, with Asuma now preparing to launch the final, fatal blow. Maybe Kakashi had overestimated Sasuke's strength after all.

"Raigo: Thousand-Armed Murder."

The huge thousand-armed Bodhisattva loomed over the trees, calm, angelic and peaceful, but with waves of stored chakra emanating from its interior. Legend had it that this ninjutsu, which was an exclusive of the ninja monks of the Hermit Group, could never be stopped or dodged, because it was literally a thousand spirit fists attacking at the same time. And Asuma Sarutobi, one of the rare shinobi who had mastered this technique, looked like he was in no mood to play around with Sasuke.

So it came as a massive surprise to Kurenai when Asuma abruptly stopped his hand symbols and took a few steps back, looking intently at Sasuke. Unsure of what was going on, she suddenly saw Darui sweep in, black lightning crackling in his fist ready to pierce through Sasuke's abdomen. But it seemed Sasuke knew exactly what was happening, because he intricately interwove himself around Darui's attack, blitzed upto Asuma, and simply absorbed the chakra gathered together inside the bodhisattva. The looming power of the jutsu faded, and Asuma fell to his knees in exhaustion.

Her heart in her throat, Kurenai lunged forward to distract Sasuke from attacking a weakened Asuma, trying to invade his consciousness with a seizure-inducing genjutsu. But she instantly realized why Asuma had stopped in his tracks. For there was a lone rippling pattern, purplish in hue, which was washing over her entire system. Her mind was transfixed, even if her body screamed for her to escape. In the background she could hear Darui cry out in anguish and become silent, even as her mind was slowly transitioning into full-fledged hallucinations. 'Kakashi was not wrong,' she thought bitterly as darkness began to overtake her. 'I guess I was just too overconfident - the kid truly is on another level.'

Sasuke, on the other hand, was struggling to stay on his feet. Not only was the pain in his right eye killing him, but Darui's last attack with the black lightning had singed a part of his right shoulder as he had tried to break the momentum of the attack with a combination of Bansho Tenin and a Katon jutsu. Gingerly feeling the burnt area with his right palm, he cursed himself for being so reliant on the Sharingan to counter the speed in other shinobi. But at least he had gotten the job done, and lived for another day. He now had to escape before his attackers before they returned to their senses. Clutching his right eye while swearing at himself to contain the pain, he started stumbling back towards the village. The plan was to rush back to the old lady's place, and maybe leave with Sakura on Garuda or Aoda, although he had no good idea of his destination. Having the Raikage's assistant on your heels was never a good sign, especially when in Kumo. It meant he had to leave to …

At this point, Sasuke froze because his Rinnegan detected the same turbulence in chakra he had felt ever so briefly while speaking with Sakura. In such close proximity, of course he knew who it was - he had felt it hundreds of times before, but the amount of hatred and bitterness that swirled with the usual nonchalance and carefreeness forced him to shut his left eye, temporarily cutting off his vision. This Kakashi was not the easy-going jounin he had left behind in the previous world, but a battle-hardened veteran worthy of being an elite ANBU. Ex-ANBU, in fact, he recalled with a grimace, as he felt the tip of a kunai lodged firmly by his throat from behind.

"So the rumors were true, Sasuke."

"Hn. What do you want, Kakashi? Still hoping to force me to return?"

"Funny you ask, considering the position you're in." And as emphasis, Kakashi pushed the kunai slightly to draw a little blood. "You know I'm not here to play games - I can slash your throat any second. In fact, I'm keeping you alive solely on a whim."

Sasuke flinched slightly at the irony of Kakashi's words - they truly were more similar in character than different.

"Now, what I need you to do is tell me the truth."

"That depends - what do you want to know?"

"Where are Naruto and Sakura?"

"I have no idea."

"No?" Kakashi's steely voice did not let up, and Sasuke felt like he was already losing the psychological battle. He did not ever remember seeing such a no-nonsense version of his former sensei. "Well, then surely you wouldn't mind me looking inside the house you are supposedly 'resting' in."

Sasuke evaluated his options, which were dwindling by the second. There was no way he could fight Kakashi in his current state, and he was not sure if he could ever bring himself to do so even if he was in a decent enough shape. He also stood no chance at escaping - because as much as he hated to admit it, Kakashi was indeed keeping him alive on a whim - he knew that his sensei did not care too much for the "former team member" camaraderie when he was a missing-nin. Naruto might have been the glue which had just prevented Kakashi from tracking and confronting Sasuke. But now that they were face-to-face, Kakashi had no reason to hold back. So he went for the only remaining way out - telling the truth.

"Sakura's in the resting house."

Instantly Sasuke felt Kakashi grab him by the collar and turn him around roughly. To the Copy-nin's credit, he did not flinch or look surprised at the ominous sight of a lone tomoeless Rinnegan stare back at him. But to Sasuke's amazement, Kakashi let him go almost immediately, returned the kunai back to his pouch and started moving over to help the temporarily incapacitated Asuma and Kurenai.

"Kakashi, what are you doing?"

Kakashi turned around, and to Sasuke's shock, he had his Mangekyo activated. He replied softly, in an almost disappointed tone. "What do you think I'm doing, Sasuke? I'm helping my team out, although I don't expect you to understand that sentiment."

"I can see that - but aren't you looking to capture me, now that you have what may be your last chance to do so?"

Kakashi sighed, even as he took out a few pills and sat Kurenai up to help her ingest them. "No, Sasuke, I have nothing to do with you anymore. You were right, you have gained power from the path you chose - that much I saw from your fight with Kurenai, Asuma and Darui. You might have even managed to kill Orochimaru. And after hearing you answer and verifying for signs of lying with my Sharingan, I know that you haven't harmed Sakura, and instead kept her safe."

Sasuke remained silent, head bowed. Kakashi always had the uncanny knack of connecting with him on another level, maybe because they spoke the same language - the language of solitude. Kakashi laid a faintly stirring Kurenai down and turned his attention to Asuma. "You know Sasuke, you may never feel the dilemma I am currently in," Kakashi murmured, and his eyes widened slightly as he saw Sasuke sit down next to him, purple eye pointed fixedly at the grass around them.

"In an obliging mood, are we, Sasuke? You were never one for listening, so this is a pleasant surprise."

"Get your little soliloquy over with, old man. I have my reasons for why I'm staying back."

Kakashi peered back at Sasuke using the Mangekyo, but gave a short nod as he returned his attention to Asuma.

"Neither of them have any serious injuries. Despite not knowing your opponent, you did not harm them beyond knocking them out. I must say I'm a little surprised."

"Hn."

"It's alright Sasuke - I don't need any explanation. It's just that I am very conflicted at this moment. Part of me wanted to incapacitate you with that kunai, especially when we both knew you were defenseless. Had I done so, the weight of my guilt and shame would have certainly lessened, and part of my current mission would have been fulfilled. I could have died knowing my role in the demise of the monster I had at least partly created."

Sasuke gulped, knowing that this outpour was long due. Of all of his former teammates, he knew Kakashi was the only one who had never been vocal about his grievances, and it gave him some sort of perverse satisfaction to hear how Kakashi truly felt about him.

"But the other part of me, the part which won the struggle, just gave me a mirror to see my own reflection. As part of numerous wars, including the Third Great War, I realized that I had murdered plenty of people, albeit in pursuit of my village's interests. I went further than you when I murdered Rin. Who am I to pass judgement on your act of betraying a village and murdering others, when I should be rotting in Hell for worse sins? We're of the same ilk, Sasuke - both just soldiers trying to survive the Shinobi world, and as long as you don't antagonize me or the people I hold dear, I have nothing against you. I always envisioned our meeting to be much more bitter and filled with vengeance on both sides, but I find myself resigned to your fate. I only wish the quiet, thirteen year old boy with so much potential hadn't gone astray," Kakashi concluded in a heavy tone.

Placing a hand tentatively on Sasuke's head, even as the latter flinched away, Kakashi added with a small smile. "Go forth and do as you wish, Sasuke. You can kill Itachi, kill whoever you want, unless it's a Konoha nin or civilian. This interaction has given me the closure I needed."

Sasuke was in a raging battle to prevent a sea of emotions from bursting forth based on what Kakashi had to say. Words could not express how sorry he was, or how bad he felt in retrospect for his betrayal of Kakashi's trust. He knew the right thing now would be to apologize in full to Kakashi, and he would have done so were they alone, but the sight of the stirring Asuma and Kurenai poured cold water on any such resolve. Instead, he turned away from Kakashi and gritted his teeth.

"Let me come on the mission to save the dobe, Kakashi. You are going to need my help."

Now it was Kakashi's turn to be flabbergasted. "What are you saying, Sasuke? Do you understand what'll happen if you are captured by us? What about Itachi?"

"I don't like repeating myself, Kakashi, but I want in on the mission to save the dobe. Itachi's the one who captured the idiot, and for now, our goals converge. And if that's what it'll take to convince you, I am more than willing to stand trial in Konoha after the mission and bear the consequences for my sins." And with that, Sasuke got up, gave Kakashi a short nod to indicate that the latter should follow, and started limping slowly back towards the gates of Samuri.

Kakashi looked at the retreating visage of his former student, and shook his head with an incredulous smile. He would never begin to understand the enigma that was Sasuke Uchiha.


	10. Chapter 10

**_*** _Ok guys, I'll admit that a fault of mine is that I get carried away with the lore of any story I'm interested in, and while writing this fanfic, one of my major focuses will be on world-building - which is the continued basis for the past few chapters. I know I said that the impending battle/ consequences would be in this chapter (and chapter 10 did seem appropriate for it) - but I just had to throw in this chapter before that. Also I am not too keen on writing fight scenes - this fic for most purposes, avoids the general power scaling bs which is inherent to any Shounen manga (any shinobi on a good day should be able to outsmart his/her opponent) and focuses instead on specific strategies which characters use to exploit the weaknesses of their enemies. But yeah - the next chapter should be the conclusion of this "arc" where things come to a boiling point. For those who were eagerly waiting for this chapter, sorry I took so long - it's a tough time graduate lol, but I should definitely be more frequent in updating over the summer before I join grad school. Anyway, see you guys next time!**

_On the outskirts of Kumo, on the banks of a seasonal stream_

"Hey, Itachi - the jinchuuriki is sorta' different from the others we've captured, isn't he?"

"Hn."

"Oh, come on - I can see from your eyes that you were dying to talk to me about it, weren't you?" Kisame teased with a mischievous smile. "Go on - tell me what twisted thought is passing through in that Uchiha mind of yours."

"We don't have time for frivolities, Kisame. Wash up, because we need to get going."

Kisame gave a mock-frown, but started doing as Itachi instructed him to do. "Y'know - ever since we left that damned monastery, I've been feeling like someone's tracking our movements - although I pity the fool who'd even try to do such a thing."

Itachi closed his eyes, even as Naruto gave a small snore from his position nearby. The Mangekyo being activated over the past 48 hours had been a great drain of Itachi's chakra, but it seemed like the best bet to keep the Nine-Tails subdued till they were at least out of Kumo's territories. Moreover, the fact that they had to blitz across three different nations with hardly any breaks before reaching the Akatsuki headquarters was not helping matters in any way. So he gave a deep sigh and said loudly,

"We have to be prepared, partner. I sense deep trouble ahead for us. Do you still want to go through the Swamp?"

Kisame looked up, surprised that Itachi was making small talk. "Hey, hey, didn't I tell you that using the shortcuts through Mizu is the quickest way to the Pass? There are only two people alive who know the way through the treacherous Swamps of Kiri, and you're lucky to know one of them. Besides," Kisame's lips curled into a cruel smile, "that guy will have to show how good he really is if he plans to keep tailing us."

The wetlands on the outskirts of the border between Kumo and _Mizu no Kuni_ were legendary for their inaccessibility. The soil there was so wet that it could hardly hold any weight, and numerous stories of brave adventurers, shinobi or otherwise, never returning from these marshes had earned it the famous moniker "One Way Swamp". But in reality, there was a deeper reasoning behind this name - legend had it that there was only one way to safely enter it, and one way to leave, and barring a handful of Kiri nin, the secret of its navigation had been lost to the world. Nobody, irrespective of their strength, was immune to the treachery of the Swamp, not even the famous "God of the Shinobi." A popular folklore in the region chronicled how a young Hashirama Senju, on a recon mission, had fallen prey to the quicksand that abounded these marshes. If not for the timely help from a young Uzushio kunoichi by the name of Mito Uzumaki, Hashirama could have met a premature demise, and the fate of the shinobi world might have changed drastically. As is the nature of any lore, and perhaps the only reason this particular one stayed memorable for hundreds of years, the story goes on to romanticize the fact that this was a preordained meeting between the strongest shinobi and kunoichi of the Warring States Era, and that their eventual union was decided by this incident. In fact, later on, the Uzushio and Kiri governments, after a formal request from the Shodai Hokage, had made specific signs to outlaw the use of these lands for traveling purposes in the name of public safety. All of this had cemented the status of these wetlands as one of the most inhospitable places in the world, and naturally they had become the route of choice for a few crafty nunekin, including the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Kisame in particular seemed to have a special liking for this route.

Itachi sighed and gave a short nod, even as he finished smoothening his wet hair. Probably Kisame was being smart with his choice of route for the journey, but Itachi's acute sense of intuition told him that crossing a route Meanwhile, the clouds had gathered above, and as was routine in Kumo, it had started drizzling. Kisame, having finished cleaning up, put on his hood and hauled Naruto up on his shoulder, even as the blond stirred faintly. And just like that, the two rogue nin vanished from sight, as if they were one with the wind.

* * *

_The Hokage's Tower, Konohagukare _

Shizune was nervous. Very nervous. It had been more than a week since Kakashi had sent news of his progress, and Tsunade was not taking his disobeyal of orders lightly. She was drinking more frequently, and was much more irritable than usual - signs Shizune knew signified a high level of worry and insecurity. Deep down, she knew Tsunade was feeling extremely guilty for putting Naruto and Sakura through so much trouble, and her increasingly rampant acts of lashing out at advisors, ANBU and doctors was just a coping mechanism for the huge stress the Hokage was under. So the event currently transpiring within the Hokage's office was definitely keeping her on her toes.

Just this morning, a messenger from Kumo had made a surprising appearance at the gates of the village - ostensibly with a highly important document from the Raikage. When he had been ushered in, it turned out that the Raikage had requested for a Five Kage Summit to discuss the recent activities of the Akatsuki. And as if appearing out of thin air, Danzo had entered and virtually hijacked the meeting under the guise of "briefing" the Hokage with important intel. This had immediately caused an uproar from Tsunade, and the shouting match which had ensued and threatened to spill over into something more serious had finally seemed like it was simmering down. But the amount of killing intent being released by the Hokage was frightening (having already knocked out the poor messenger who was caught in the crossfire), although Danzo appeared to be unfazed.

"Have you calmed down, Hokage-sama? There is something very important the Village Council would like to discuss with you, and per convention, the Hokage has to make time for our concerns."

"Convention be damned, Shimura! Nobody comes into my office unannounced, and you are only too aware of that fact. So I will give you one, and potentially your final chance to explain yourself."

Danzo let out a deep guffaw, even as Tsunade looked like she was a step away from murder. "I must say, and I mean no disrespect at all, Hokage-sama, but your patience hasn't improved in the slightest from the old days when Sarutobi was your teacher." However, he knew better than pushing Tsunade any further, so he quickly schooled his expression and quickly said, "But of course, Hokage sama. I have just come to let you know what my agents have given me vital information about Naruto."

There was pindrop silence when Danzo mentioned Naruto, and instantly the presence of any KI vanished.

Tsunade stood up, eyes narrowed. "Spill it out, Shimura."

Danzo strode over to the chair opposite Tsunade, not breaking eye contact for a second. "Well, Hokage-sama, it appears that Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki have captured the jinchuuriki. And unfortunately, we can't say where your apprentice is currently," he paused, but when the retort never came, he continued carefully. "Of course, you are aware of this. I have merely come with two proposals which I believe will help solve Konoha's problems."

"I don't have time for games. Whatever you want, say it clearly," Tsunade said angrily.

"That is precisely what I intend to do. Give my forces leave to confront Itachi Uchiha."

Now it was Tsunade's turn to be flabbergasted. Danzo never had directly asked her before if he could deploy his group of shinobi. What was he playing at?

"Are you crazy, Shimura, or has old age made you utterly stupid? Do you really think your ROOT can stand up to Itachi Uchiha?"

Danzo bowed his head, an unusual sign of obeisance on his part. "Please, Hokage-sama. Hear me out. I guarantee you that the idea is not as outlandish as it seems."

Agan, there was a pregnant pause before Danzo continued. "Konoha is currently teetering on the edge, Hokage-sama. The Akatsuki is very quickly becoming a threat which cannot be ignored or contained. Either we confront them on our terms, or they will be at our doorstep before we can even prepare for them."

At this moment Danzo suddenly stood up and went over to the huge map of the Elemental Nations adorning the wall of the Hokage's office. "The captors of our jinchuuriki are currently eastbound through the wastelands surrounding the outskirts of Kumo, and the Council has already discussed the role of Jiraiya in the upcoming skirmish. We believe that it is better that there be a backup force to support him, as it is only wise to have the utmost safeguards in place to ensure that we retrieve the jinchuuriki. Don't you agree, Hokage-sama?"

Tsunade bristled. Danzo was making a lot of sense, and her usual sharp tongue was failing her. "That may be so, Shimura. But that's precisely why we sent three of our best jounin to Kumo - they will serve as the backup Jiraiya needs."

A sinister smile appeared on Danzo's face, even as he tried to look vaguely interested in entertaining that possibility. "Ah, but of course. The famous Kakashi Hatake, Kurenai Yuhi and Asuma Sarutobi. Now where have I heard of those three names recently? Surely you must remember, Hokage-sama - although you were not physically present in the village a couple of years ago. All three of them withered like dead trees in the face of a single Sharingan genjutsu from Itachi Uchiha. Do you think they will fare any better this time?"

Tsunade grimaced, but did not contest Danzo's assertion.

"To put it bluntly, Hokage-sama, it'll be a fool's hope to even imagine things going any differently this time. Moreover, there is one more reason Jiraiya will need more than those three to be successful." Danzo was back in his seat, looking piercingly at Tsunade. " Because there is an unknown factor we haven't accounted for in our calculus who could very well throw our plans in disarray."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, Hokage-sama, that Sasuke Uchiha is in Kumo right now. And we're not talking about a typical teenage brat here - my informants tell me that he has got the Mangekyo Sharingan, just like his brother."

Tsunade froze. Some of her most vivid memories of her childhood came from her granduncle, the great Tobirama Senju, shouting out at her grandfather (then the Hokage) about "blinding" the Uchiha bastards, and she later found out that he had tried numerous times (albeit unsuccessfully) to create a Forbidden Jutsu that could incapacitate the Mangekyo Sharingan. She knew all too well the horrible (and fatal) events leading upto the possession of such an eye, and her mind was racing to sift through several potential lives Sasuke could have already taken.

Danzo was looking appraisingly in Tsunade's direction, and it seemed like this was the reaction he was expecting. So he immediately went for the kill, before the latter regained control of the conversation. "And that brings me to my second proposal, Hokage-sama. We need more information about his Mangekyo Sharingan, including its powers and capabilities - and the only way we can get any such knowledge involves you."

"Me?! What are you saying, Shimura? Do you want me to go to Kumo and interrogate the brat personally?"

"Ah, of course not, Hokage-sama. The Council remembers the edict of the Shodai Hokage very clearly - that a Hokage protects the village from within. And we are more than willing to obey that edict. In this case, however, you are indispensable to gather information about the brat's Mangekyo Sharingan - mainly because nobody else in this village is strong enough to stand up to the person in question, let alone extract information from him. And the fact that you were former teammates can only help you in your aim."

It was then that it dawned on Tsunade, and she felt like slapping herself for being so naive. Danzo wanted her to confront Orochimaru, who of course would know how Sasuke got his eyes.

"But why would he cooperate?" she blurted out, despite having a vague inkling of what Danzo was going to say.

Danzo's eyes flashed with an emotion Tsunade could not decipher, and he took out a scroll and tossed it to Tsunade. Catching it warily, she glanced over it. It was marked by serpent bites, but otherwise blank with no writing. Her eyes widened in shock. This note had a blood seal, but what distinguished it from other such encrypted letters was that the blood was not of the user, but rather that of his summon.

Hands shaking, Tsunade stood up and whispered, "Katsuyu - I need your help here." Instantly a mini version of the giant slug from the notorious Shikkotsu Forest appeared on her forearm with a chant of "yes milady."

"Is this a blood seal from Manda? And can you open it?"

Katsuyu immediately dropped onto the markings on the scroll parchment, and after a few seconds, confirmed Tsunade's suspicions. She fell back onto her seat in shock, because this meant Orochimaru was in serious trouble. The little known blood oath of the Sannin, which had been created during the height of the Second Shinobi War, bound the trio of Tsunade, Orochimaru and Jiraiya to a special means of communication using their special summons. The consensus after the War had been that neither of them would ever use it again - they had no use for the other anymore. But there it was, right in front of her eyes, a newly formed cryptic message on the blank parchment, courtesy Katsuyu.

_Tsuna, I am writing to you because an enemy's enemy is an ally. The winds are a changin', only alacrity can shelter the leaf from the storm._

All this while, Danzo was patiently waiting for the understanding to dawn on the Hokage. When she finally broke from the reverie induced by Orochimaru's note and looked in his direction, he hastened to clarify. "Oto has descended into lawlessness, Hokage-sama. It appears Sasuke Uchiha attacked Orochimaru with the Mangekyo, and my sources confirm that the injuries were very serious, almost fatal. The messenger with this note was apprehended at the border of the Fire Country, and Ibiki from T&I was able to ascertain from the man's memories that Orochimaru has fled Oto and is currently sheltering in a small settlement in the Forest of Death with his apprentice. You are our best bet to confront him."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. Damn the cursed old man seated opposite her - this was not something she wanted to do. But transcending one's personal whims was part of the Hokage's job description, and to protect Konoha she'd have to get all relevant information, even if it was from that bastard Orochimaru. So she stood up, frustrated and agitated, and motioned to Shizune to end this meeting. She had had enough of Danzo, and needed a drink badly. The amount of information she was in possession of was making her head spin, and she needed a clear mind before making any more decisions.

As Danzo was being ushered out, she called to his retreating visage, "Very well, Shimura. I will accept this task. And I hope for your sake that the information you have provided me is reliable. You won't live to tell the tale if it isn't."

* * *

_A coniferous forest in northern Kumo_

The humidity of the surroundings was one of the biggest irritants for Kakashi. They always caused his eyepatch to stick more tightly than usual, and often the sweat would get in his lone functional eye and cause continuous itching. He could only imagine the discomfort Sasuke was feeling, with both of his eyes bound. Glancing at his side, he was truly impressed by the change in his former student, and simultaneously perplexed by why he would undergo this suffering, indeed humiliation, just to join them in the mission to retrieve Naruto. For when he had returned to Samuri with a rejuvenated team consisting of Kurenai, Asuma and Darui (with his assistants), and had come clean to the Kumo nin on his true mission, they had instantly vetoed his idea that Sasuke would join the expedition freely. Darui had made sure to touch base with his Kumo headquarters and call for additional backup, and the Raikage had sent specific instructions that the Kumo nin were to escort and aid Kakashi and his team in retrieving Naruto.

Before the night was out, a team of ten Kumo shinobi led by Yugito swarmed the premises of the resthouse they were in. On seeing Sasuke, they were understandably bewildered and outraged, but after some sharp words exchanged with Darui, they quieted down to occasional murmuring. Instead, Darui had called for a joint conference of everyone (barring Sasuke) to decide on the steps agreeable to both sides in light of their impending mission. Most of the people in the room had wanted an instant execution, as befits a nunekin, but Kakashi and Sakura were steadfast in their insistence that Sasuke be allowed to accompany them on their mission, as he was a criminal whose fate could only be decided after trial in Konoha. The consummate politician in Darui finally broke the impasse when he proposed a compromise - if Konoha believed that Sasuke was sincere in helping them, then the latter should be allowed to do so, but in a restricted fashion. His eyes, which still had the seal on the Sharingan, were to be bound to ensure he could not use them, his weapons would be confiscated, and his lone wrist was to be bound to his hips using cords littered with detonating tags (which would blow his arm off in case he tried to free himself unscrupulously).

Sakura was furious at this arrangement, but Kakashi overruled her instantly - he knew the extent of goodwill Kumo was trying to create with these concessions, especially in light of Darui's account of how Sasuke had indiscriminately attacked more than twenty Kumo nin a few days ago. For now, the fact that Sasuke was allowed to live was a major reprieve, and maybe with the help he promised them, he could be let off slightly less harshly. But either way, the main problem in front of them was to reach the Akatsuki before it was too late, and he needed to work with this team to make sure they were on track to do so.

Sakura, on the other hand, deeply resented the decision taken by the group on Sasuke. Something within told her that this was not the same boy bent on vengeance and betrayal who had left the village, and that the treatment they were meting out to him was a grave injustice. Sasuke had pulled her aside when he had returned and almost demanded that she stop the pain in his eyes, but unfortunately she was no match for the intricately carved Hyuuga seal. She tearfully told Sasuke that it wasn't possible, but then went on to pour healing chakra anyway into his eyes and burn wound to at least lessen the pain. However, before she could finish the process, Kakashi and the gang reached the house, and Sasuke almost immediately bade her stop. To her immense surprise, Sasuke bowed his head by a fraction, thanked her and disappeared just before Kakashi entered her room. That was the last she had seen of Sasuke for a few days, until today, when the team was due to start on their main mission.

Kakashi was the one to break down the agreed upon conditions to Sasuke, and once again, Sasuke surprised everyone by giving his former teacher a short nod of acquiescence. After Yugito had tied up Sasuke's eyes, put him on a straitjacket so he could barely move his arms, and stripped him of his chokuto and weapons pouch (which Kakashi volunteered to store away in a scroll), Darui came up to the sightless Uchiha and politely asked him if he would want a couple of his shinobi to guide him along the path during their journey. The uncomfortable silence that followed was thankfully broken when Sasuke gave a firm "No", and instead summoned a pair of non-poisonous snakes to serve as guides along the ground.

For Sakura (and to some degree Kakashi), the sight of a handicapped Sasuke caused an eerie sense of unease. The Sasuke she saw in front of her may have changed in a lot of respects, but the Uchiha pride - the hallmark which had made the clan so immune to any sort of dependence on the larger village - remained strong and alive with him. From their years in Team 7, she knew that Sasuke would go through hell and high water before even considering help from others. Indeed it was one of the qualities which she so admired in him for a long time. But right now, the scene of a sightless man who was stumbling along with a couple of snakes, all because he would not let go of his pride, broke a part of her heart. At the same time, she knew that pride was perhaps the only thing left in the world for Sasuke - he had lost everything else, and she thanked Kami that he had at least agreed to be with them on their mission. For that reason, she often would push Kakashi and the others to take frequent breaks in the journey, and make sure that Sasuke's bindings were not getting too wet or infected due to the humidity all around.

It was at this time that the members of the team all noticed a flash of black pass by, and stop a few trees ahead of them.

"Everybody - wait!" Kakashi ordered, as he tried to size up the potential threat the person ahead projected on them. But after activating his Sharingan for a second, he quickly relaxed and took a few steps forward.

"Did you have any success, Sai? Getting that man's exact location will be essential in any plan we make to retrieve Naruto."

Sai tilted his head slightly, even as his stoic expression changed into his patented creepy smile. "I believe I did, Kakashi-san. Based on the vernacular I've been attempting to learn, you could call my mission a 'runaway hit'. Using your advice, I 'followed the frogs', and I stumbled right across Jiraiya-sama."

Kakashi immediately perked up. "Where did you find him? Did he give you a location we should go to?"

The smile on Sai's face gradually lessened even as he looked like he was pondering over his answer. "Well, the only problem was that after I located him, I lost him, and I tried catching upto him, but I was not sure…."

Now, everyone in the group had taken it for granted that only a person as strong as Jiraiya would be integral to any plan to stop Itachi Uchiha, such was the notoriety associated with the latter's reputation. Kakashi and the Konoha jounin especially were acutely aware of their shortcomings in the face of Itachi's Sharingan, and Darui was equally wary after hearing the account of the Kaminari Den pillage from Samui and her team. Both sides were banking on having the firepower of one of the Sannin, and hearing that they could not coordinate with the latter while confronting the Akatsuki was disheartening and downright scary.

Just as Sai was struggling to explain himself, and Kakashi's heart was sinking in dismay, a loud voice boomed through the forest, and everyone almost jumped out of their skin in fear and surprise.

"What is the use of providing a location, when the great one himself is at the same place as you, Kakashi Hatake?"

And just like that, Jiraiya the Gallant appeared in front of them, in his very flesh and blood, temporarily tongue-tying Kakashi and his group (with the exception of a "tch" from Sasuke). Everything was as the legends said - the presence of the waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a pony tail, the red lines under his eyes which extended further down to the bottom of his face, the red haori with two yellow circles on each side, and the huge scroll on his back. A sense of security and new hope pervaded the group - with Jiraiya in the mix, the prospect of stopping the Akatsuki did not seem so far-fetched after all.


	11. Chapter 11

_The Great Swamps, Kirigakure. Three days later_

Itachi felt a light shiver run through his spine as he moved past the swamplands at a breakneck speed. The sudden appearance of thunderclouds accompanied by raging winds brought about an ominous change to the monotonous scenery of damp, lifeless marshes all around. He never really liked the Ides of March, not because of the unpredictable weather associated with it, but because of the fact that it had come to define his personality and role in this world - he had become a teenage ANBU around then, and of course, a few years later, it was the date of the fated Uchiha massacre. The curse of having the Sharingan meant that he recalled every single minute detail of that day - how Mikoto had gotten into such a row with Fugaku over clan politics that she had forgotten to pack Sasuke's meal, how he had stood Izumi up over their planned lunch together, and how Sasuke was throwing a tantrum at the Academy because he had forgotten his favorite shuriken for target practice at home. He recalled delivering a note from the Sandaime Hokage to the Uchiha elders requesting that the Leaf Police Force be marshalled away from the larger village and work out of the clan HQ for the night. Danzo with his forces had given him a pat on his back that afternoon, and a few hours later Madara had run through the 'plan' with him at the Naka shrine. The depth of human conspiracy which led to this tragic event seemed surreal to him, even after so many years. Sometimes, he reasoned that the bouts of incessant storms which followed that year's Ides of March had to do with nature's protest at the utter lack of humanity behind this act of genocide - an act which ended with just one survivor out of more than two thousand people. Maybe the earth itself was trying to wash away the blood of so many innocents, each of whom had indelible aspirations and dreams.

Retribution. It was the one word that scared Itachi, which kept him awake on many sleepless nights. And it was not the shallow fear of someone (Sasuke included) killing him to take revenge on behalf of the slain Uchiha - he was already resigned to this fate and almost eager to embrace it. The fear was much deeper, and was about the events after death, when he would have to answer before Kami himself. The Sandaime Hokage had told him once, ages ago when he was in the Academy, that hurting vulnerable people was the ultimate sacrilege, precisely because they could not strike back. How would he be able to face everyone in the afterlife - his parents, his grandparents, numerous cousins and countless friends? He knew that each person killed that night was weaker than him, depended on him for his/her safety, so every one of their final moments, replete with a defiant Sharingan swirling with inconsolable grief and betrayal, stabbed his heart with a ferocity greater than any tanto could ever achieve. The tears he shed that night, alone on that solitary post above the compound, unseen and forgotten, represented the culmination of this pain. And ever since, the Ides of March remained as a potent reminder of the albatross he has always carried around his neck. 'Maybe it's time to lay down the burden,' he wondered, unconsciously speeding up and moving dangerously against the sides of the marshes; 'I don't know how much longer I can carry the weight.'

"Hey, Itachi!" Kisame yelled. "Slow down - we need to find shelter, and quickly - because a tempest is approaching. The route ahead is getting dangerous - there's no way we can continue."

To Kisame's surprise, Itachi turned around by a fraction and stopped precipitously over a peat bog, staring intently into the thick mist all around.

"That doesn't matter, partner. We have company."

Kisame instantly became alert, even as Naruto fidgeted a little on his back. "It's the same person from before. But what's with this chakra? It's way too powerful for the hunter-nin I had initially assumed was foolish enough to follow us."

"Hunter-nin? No, not at all Kisame. We're in the presence of someone far more formidable - although I had somewhat expected such an encounter. But I will admit, I had not accounted for the ominous weather, which seems to give him an advantage."

Just then, a massive bolt of lightning struck Kisame's back, which he could barely block using the Samehada. The bolt instantly dissipated, but it seemed to have taken Naruto with it. A similar bolt was fired at Itachi, who dodged it with far more grace and aplomb.

"It's the jinchuuriki's caretaker, Itachi - Jiraiya of the Sannin." Kisame said with gritted teeth. "Before that name, even Konoha's Uchiha Clan and the Mist's Seven Shinobi Swordsmen seem small and petty. Perhaps you can fight with him evenly…but I don't think I can."

Itachi smiled at Kisame's brutal assessment. "You're right, partner. If we both fought him on one of his good days, we would both most likely be killed. Or, on his bad day, we might kill him, but we'd die along with him. Even if we had more men, that result would not change."

"Tsk - so we plan on going berserk, right?"

With an almost wistful sigh, Itachi pulled out his kunai. The familiar pain in his chest was bubbling from the exertion he was subjecting his body to. He had a feeling that this encounter was not going to end in a minor skirmish.

"Yes, we have to go for broke, because we cannot surrender the boy. Kisame- listen to me carefully - if things get ugly, don't wait for me - leave with the jinchuuriki. That ninjutsu was not long-range - so he should be nearby. Just find the jinchuuriki, and leave the other threats to me."

Itachi barely managed to finish his instructions when two huge boulders appeared high in the sky, wobbling menacingly in the sky.

"Fuuton: Air Cannon."

Kisame leapt away even as the boulders were shot with fatal speed towards their location, but Itachi brought in two huge waves from the surrounding muddy water to cushion the impact and stop the projectiles in their tracks. But this seemed to only play into Jiraiya's hands, because a deep voice boomed throughout the marshes, even as several clones of Jiraiya appeared out of the mist and formed a circle around Itachi, each with its own Rasengan.

"Itachi Uchiha - lore has it that you're a master tactician, whose speciality is to make a weak hand appear strong. Unfortunately, it appears you have overplayed your suit here. Surely you knew that I was serious the last time when I mentioned I would kill you if you touched Naruto again."

The power radiating from the Rasengans was immense - each was enough to vaporize an entire town - and Itachi knew too well that they were a perfect weapon in this environment - the swamp would swallow almost any amount of destroyed rubble and leave no traces of the carnage behind. If the blow struck, it was an instant death warrant. But the ever unflappable Uchiha tilted his head in acknowledgement, and said quietly with a small smirk.

"Jiraiya of the Sannin - it is indeed an honor to meet you in person for the second time. But one should never be premature in judgement. For even famous heroes are but human, especially when their judgement is clouded by emotional attachments." He tied his forehead protector a little more tightly around his head. "I have a feeling that by the end of this meeting, the times will have moved past one of us."

Pleasantries having been exchanged, the clones gave a hearty laugh even as two of them rushed forward and impaled Itachi right through the heart with their Rasengans. Seemingly satisfied that the job was done, the rest of the clones turned towards Kisame, who had seemingly located Naruto on the narrow bank a few hundred metres away, and was kneeling down beside the faintly-stirring boy. Of course, this was all a ruse, because a murder of crows immediately appeared from Itachi's "corpse" and dispersed all of the clones in an instant.

"Come now, Jiraiya-san. Are we still playing around? Show your true self - I am eager to measure the distance between my strength and yours," Itachi rasped out, his body battered with two gaping holes, and barely able to stand up. Any outside observer would think he was on his last legs - but Jiraiya was not fooled.

"I could say the same of you, boy. Did you actually think I would fall for your illusions?"

The scene almost immediately changed - the mist cleared and the rain, which had seemingly reduced to a drizzle, came back with full force. Kisame, who had just realized what had happened, gave a wry smile - trust Itachi to set up a genjutsu so strong that it altered the intensity of the weather, but so intricate that he had failed to sense it. The seemingly injured Itachi transformed back to a fully healthy shinobi, ready in stance, even as the real Jiraiya hovered over the near marsh, atop a giant toad. Each was looking intently in the other's direction, even as Jiraiya's eyes were assiduously avoiding the spinning pinwheels of the Mangekyo. It was almost as if they were two prizefighters sizing each other up before delivering the knockout blow. The tension was so thick that Kisame had to lay Naruto down and grip the Samehada in a ready stance.

Without a word, Itachi flickered away to a spot near the Toad Sage, and the clanging sounds of kunais started ringing throughout the marshes - the grace and artistry of two master shinobis dueling in extremely precise and technical ways. The sheer pressure emanating from their blows could knock out common observers, but it slowly became obvious that Itachi could not hold on for very long. Kisame realized with horror that the minute miscues on display - the occasional misstep among a series of perfectly executed weapon moves, and the slightly late reactions which seemed to get more pronounced as the battle wore on, meant that Itachi was trying his best to contain one of his blood-filled coughing fits, albeit unsuccessfully.

So Kisame made the split second decision to abandon Naruto for the time being in the hope of turning the tide. Itachi was fighting in a very unusual manner - relying heavily on physical attacks instead of the powers granted by the Sharingan, and Kisame had an inkling that tiredness and overuse of his eyes was the reason behind this. So with Samehada in hand, he charged into the battle with a roar and a mighty slash aimed at Jiraiya's back. To his immense surprise, the blade went right through Jiraiya, who disappeared almost instantly after the strike. Itachi's eyes widened - this was one of the first times he had not seen through the full extent of an opponent's genjutsu. However, there was no time to marvel at the senjutsu-driven illusion, as the real Jiraiya was moving swiftly from behind, ready to decapitate Kisame's head. And from the corner of his eyes, he could see more than twenty shinobi emerge and swarm the battle scene, each equipped with lightning jutsus crackling on their palms. Kakashi, his Mangekyo noted, was leading the charge with the Chidori. Itachi knew the situation was slowly devolving into a hopeless one - the enemies had smartly blocked off the route to the only entry/exit to the Swamps, making Kisame and himself akin to a couple of sheep ready to be slaughtered.

An intense pang of pain shot through his chest, temporarily blurring his vision - and the subsequent dull throbbing of his Sharingan told him that he stood no reasonable chance against the upcoming onslaught. Reasonable being the operative word, of course. When Itachi Uchiha had made up his mind about something, there were not many forces which could stop him - and he was determined in this case to give Kisame a chance to escape with Naruto. So he grabbed Kisame's arm and shoved him into a kneeling position.

"Summon the Red Code, Kisame - I'll buy you the required time," Itachi ordered in a quiet tone.

Kisame indignation slowly turned to amazement. "What the hell, Itachi? You very well know we can't do that. Nobody has ever used it before, and I don't plan on being the first to do so."

His protests, however, were quickly silenced with one look at Itachi's face. He had never seen Itachi display emotions before, but the conflict between the Uchiha pride and the determination to escape the clutches of their enemy was clear on the latter's face. "Trust me, partner, I thought I would be the last one to do so too. But ever since we became nunekin, we both know that dignity trumps pride. Surely you know that if we are to retain our freedom, we have no choice."

Kisame hated to be put in the spotlight - he had chosen to team up with Itachi because the latter was such a good steward, and often his decisions brought about the best outcomes from lousy situations. But now the most important decision in their partnership was thrust squarely into his chest, and a wrong choice would be potentially fatal, and in a painful way. There really was only one course of action to take - there were too many enemies to tackle for their weary bodies. He had to employ the Red Code for backup. He gave a jerky nod in Itachi's direction and whispered "Mizu Bunshin" to make a water clone.

Visible relief broke across Itachi's face for a moment, before it hardened into steely resolve. Looking around, he saw about ten shinobi encircling him, ready to attack. Smiling slightly, he raised his hands and dropped his weapons. Kisame and his clone immediately followed suit. Jiraiya looked warily at Kakashi, who shrugged and shouted "Everyone - don't move yet!"

But the Kumo nin, jubilant at the seeming surrender of two S-class nunekin, instantly stepped forward, before Darui could yell out to stop them. To their horror, however, black flames burst forth without warning, and engulfed the ones nearest to Itachi. The surrounding marshes, rich in combustible gases like methane, instantly lit up in flames, and Amaterasu raged in earnest to form a five meter circle of unbearable heat. In the mayhem which ensued - with the injured shinobi screaming in pain, and the uninjured ones trying to put out the fire - Kisame was gone.

"We need to pull back," Kakashi yelled. "Jiraiya-san, we can't let Itachi escape. Is there anything we can do against the Amaterasu?" Glancing to his side, however, Kakashi was surprised to no longer see or sense Jiraiya. He too seemed to have vanished from the scene.

With a shake of his head, Kakashi activated his Mangekyo to monitor Itachi within the smoke filled ring of flames. To his surprise, Itachi was on his knees, head bowed and panting heavily. There seemed to be some internal bleeding, because blood was splattered on the ground all around.

"Darui-san, Itachi is down inside the ring. We need to get there by circumventing the black flames before he recovers. Any ideas?" Kakashi shouted, trying desperately to maintain the advantage they had gained.

"Not really, Kakashi-san," Darui said, promptly flickering over to Kakashi. "At the very least we can stay alert outside this ring and prevent him from escaping - I've just sent word to call more reinforcements."

At this moment, Kurenai, who was busy trying to seal away the small bits of Amaterasu on the border of the ring, suddenly straightened up with a grimace. "Kakashi - Asuma just reported from the bank where Naruto was being kept. We need to rush, because there's major trouble brewing over there."

* * *

_In a clearing on the outskirts of the Kiri Swamp_

Sasuke was slowly getting irritated. It had been a while since Kakashi and the others had left him behind with Sakura, ostensibly for a final meeting about planning the attack on the Akatsuki. And by now, he had figured out that they had ditched him. His eyes prickled and throbbed within his bindings, and he knew that Kakashi had wilfully taken advantage of his visual handicap. 'It's the same, isn't it?' he thought bitterly, as his memory conjured up images of his entire life. The Sandaime Hokage lying, Tobi lying, Madara lying, and now Kakashi. 'It's always a lack of trust, hasn't it? Nobody gives me the full picture, and always wants to string me along. I have always sensed their fear and mistrust, but I don't know how many more concessions will be required to make them trust me.' Carefully brushing his bound palms over his eyepatches to slightly massage them, he wondered if this was how it would have turned out if he had returned, as Naruto had wanted, without a fight in the previous timeline. Would he have been subjected to the same amount of backstabbing, torture and betrayal?

Sakura, who was sitting slightly away from Sasuke, eyed him warily. Something about this new Sasuke scared her, and the measured but directed amount of killing intent he was leaking as he was visibly brooding put her on a state of high alert. 'Don't hesitate to incapacitate him if needed - he is not a friend,' Kakashi had warned her, when he had given her access to the chakra strings which bound Sasuke's eyes. One hard tug, and he would be blinded. Her hands gripped the strings tighter as Sasuke got up from his position and slowly started moving towards her.

"Sakura, we have to get going. Kakashi and the others have left, but they don't know what they're getting themselves into."

"Gomen'nasai, Sasuke-kun. Kakashi-sensei told us to stay here till he returned from the meeting - he should be back any moment."

Sasuke couldn't believe his ears. This was the fifth time she had dismissed his requests with an identical answer. Was she stupid, or just playing dumb? It had been more than at least four hours, and the group had not returned. 'Who am I kidding?' he thought, 'She's in on the plan with Kakashi.' But that thought just served to rile him up even more. He had literally saved the girl's life and coaxed her back to good health - but she was still so distant and cautious, and so disingenuous. He had always thought that his relationship with Sakura had deteriorated irreparably post their Land of Iron encounter, but it seemed that the wounds ran deeper. He had expected her to be grateful for the fact that he had saved her life, and be slightly more understanding of his mindset given all the memories he had shown her. Because if he could not get her forgiveness and trust even after all of this, what chance did he have with all of the others?

Unfortunately for him, old habits would die hard, for his patience was beginning to wear thin. "So you're in on this with Kakashi, and following his orders, aren't you?" he snarled, fists clenching tightly as he rounded up on her.

Sakura took a step back, but answered firmly. "I'm waiting for Kakashi-sensei to return, Sasuke-kun - the same as you. And please back away, I need some space."

"Or what?" Sasuke asked, folding his hands but not budging from his position. But once again, he was amazed at what Sakura did - something which he never would have imagined possible. For there was a brief flare-up of chakra which swiftly moved towards him, and there was a sharp pang of pain which hit his abdomen, making him double down in pain.

"I'm not the weak girl you left behind, Sasuke-kun. And right now, I promise that you aren't in any condition to intimidate me."

Sasuke coughed up a mouthful of blood and spit, but his eyes widened with understanding as he slowly understood Sakura's situation, even if by a little bit. Forgiveness was not a sort of reward granted for one act, it was a culmination of goodwill earned in small, incremental steps. And he was nowhere near the final stage of the process.

"I know, Sakura," muttered Sasuke. Just then, the subtle jerking of her hand made him aware that the chakra strings binding his eyes were in her hands. His Rinnegan could feel Sakura's chakra wash over them as she tightly gripped them, and he realized how agitated she actually was beneath her calm exterior. So he gave a small smirk even as he made an imperceptible hand gesture at the two snake summons, and asked in an innocent tone, "Will you treat my eyes? If we're going to wait, I'd prefer not to have my eyes burn all the time."

Sakura's chakra instantly relaxed, but unfortunately, a moment's worth of partially letting her guard down allowed the two snakes to instantly wrench the bindings out of her hand and scurry over beneath the roots of an old marsh tree.

"What the-" Sakura gasped, even as Sasuke immediately tackled her onto the ground, and positioned himself on top of her, with his palm wrapped around her throat.

"Don't trust anyone, Sakura, and more importantly, never let your guard down. Are you seriously that naïve, thinking that you are at my level just because I can't access my eyes?" As if to emphasize his point, he tightened his grip around her throat. "I don't care if you think you're strong or weak - if you had true power you wouldn't be at my mercy." He slowly bent down to be level with her face, and whispered quietly in her ears, "And if I were your enemy, you would be dead by now."

Sakura squirmed underneath him, and he could feel chakra concentrating in her fist. From his experience in another lifetime, he knew that the hit she was preparing could break each and every bone in his body, so he hastily flung himself away from her. Sakura sprang up, seething, only to see that a kunai was missing from her waist-bound weapons pouch. Sasuke stood a few feet from her, moving slightly unsteadily, but at a ready fighting stance.

"Don't do this, Sasuke-kun. You can't engage in physical combat in your condition. But if you force my hand, I promise you that I won't go easy on you."

Electricity sparked through the kunai in Sasuke's hand. She was playing right into his plan, and he inwardly smiled at how easy it was to get under her skin.

"I would advise against that, Sakura. But if you want to act stubborn despite the fact that you're weak," he said, pausing for effect as she bristled with anger, "so be it. In fact, let's wager a bet, and if I lose, I promise I'll give in quietly."

Sakura, who had prepared to charge at him, stopped her motion abruptly. What the hell did he mean by a bet? Again, the new Sasuke absolutely confounded her. He had the old cockiness, the old insensitivity, the old pride, but his newfound ability to throw her off with his words unsettled her. Surely he couldn't have known that two and a half years with Tsunade meant that she had unconsciously imbibed some of the Sannin's famous penchant to wager.

'No, you're thinking too much, Sakura. Focus on the issue at hand instead,' she scolded herself. So she decided to play along. "Alright, what did you have in mind?"

"I thought that was obvious," he said dryly, gesturing at her fighting stance. "One hit each, Sakura - and whoever does maximum damage wins. And if I win-ah!" Sasuke abruptly cut himself off with a cry of pain, and fell on his knees, panting heavily. His Rinnegan throbbed with pain, as a series of targeted signals seeped into it, almost like a heated knife through a slab of butter. As he slowly concentrated on the nature of these signals and their source, he realized that they were chakra signals derived from some special jutsu, and that they were emanating from the marshes nearby. But what frightened him was that these signals were designed specifically for the Rinnegan, as they were not perceived by his right eye. Taking a deep breath, he steeled himself to decipher the images encoded by these signals.

Sakura, on the other hand, had instantly rushed up to him. She had feared that Sasuke would try to overexert himself in a state where he had but a fraction of his actual chakra, and this fear was increasingly looking more likely - in fact, it looked like he was losing consciousness as slumped down in a kneeling position.

"Stay with me, Sasuke-kun!" she yelled, even as she frantically looked around for a water source. Sasuke's parched lips showed that he was severely dehydrated, so she gently laid down his head onto the ground as she decided to quickly get some water from the small ponds near the edge of the swamp. But as soon as she turned her back, she heard a slash and a scream from the unconscious boy, so she rushed back to the spot. To her surprise, Sasuke had ripped open the bindings on his left eye with the kunai, and a frantic purple eye stared back in her direction. Without thinking she cradled his head in her lap and asked in a concerned voice, "What happened, Sasuke-kun? Please wait, I'll get some water to quench your thirst."

But Sasuke gripped her hand as if his life depended on it. "Wait, Sakura," he croaked, eyes shining with a type of fear she had never seen before. "Kakashi stands no chance, even with the help of Jiraiya. We have to go to the dobe - and we can't afford to waste another moment."

"We've been through this, Sasuke-kun - we are to wait for Kakashi-sensei…" Sakura started protesting again but they were effectively silenced when Sasuke wrenched his head away from her lap and stood up, grabbing her by the shoulders unsteadily. "It's no longer fun and games, do you understand?" he shouted. "They are no longer up against only Kisame and my brother."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Sasuke had already started a complex series of hand seals, and Sakura could hear the screech of a large hawk descending upon them. Finishing the final seal of the Hawk summon, Sasuke looked at her with great severity. "It's become a matter of life and death for the dobe and Kakashi, for the Akatsuki have assembled in the Swamps of Kiri."

* * *

_Swamps of Kirigakure, by the banks of the main river_

Naruto was feeling extremely groggy and slightly dazed. Being in an induced sleep forever (at least to his mind) was bad enough, but now it felt like he had woken up into a terrible nightmare and had no escape. He had been roughly awakened by Ero-sennin a few minutes ago, who had yelled at him to get ready for a series of attacks. By the time he had unsteadily gotten onto his feet, a bunch of shinobi he knew, including Yugito and Asuma, flickered by and started shouting instructions to others in the regiments to find Kisame. He heard Jiraiya mention to both regiments how he had observed two versions of Kisame flee the black flames before it could cover the entire periphery around Itachi, and exhort them to find the nunekin before the latter could call for backup. Without really thinking about it, Naruto had volunteered to help his sensei in tracking down Kisame, and had been overjoyed to find that Jiraiya was more than willing to make use of his abilities as a sensor.

Eventually, with the help of about fifty of his shadow clones, Jiraiya had found Kisame meditating under the marsh in a water capsule. The Akatsuki member was seemingly dissipating his own chakra, but Naruto's clones could barely sense where it was going. When they had approached the capsule to disrupt Kisame's concentration, the water clone had immediately blocked their path, and had started engaging in a difficult hand-to-hand combat with Jiraiya. Ultimately, a timely combination of a Rasengan from contributions of each of the fifty clones, and a Toad Oil Bullet barrage from Jiraiya had dispelled the doppleganger, and they were able to break through the capsule.

Kisame, to his credit, had immediately blocked the impact of both attacks using the Samehada, and had dodged the combined lightning jutsu from the Kumo nin with ease. Instead of counterattacking, however, he was moving deeper into the marshes he knew so well, ostensibly to buy more time. Realizing this plan, Jiraiya had stopped Naruto near the end of the river bank and had told him to stay back with Asuma. But before he could disappear in pursuit of Kisame, a large chakra fluctuation nearby had frozen all of the shinobi present there, Jiraiya included.

Naruto blinked, wondering why a half dozen storm clouds had suddenly filled the sky, and the mist all around had accentuated to almost zero visibility. Suddenly, Jiraiya gripped his shoulders and whispered, "Naruto, you need to hide. Run away towards the exit, we'll cover for you here."

"But Ero-sennin, I want to help out. After all, it was my Rasengan which caught that guy, dattebayo! I'm sure he's running away from me, isn't-"

Naruto stopped, as a wave of crippling killing intent pervaded the atmosphere. Shadows loomed from all around them, and Naruto felt a type of fear he hadn't felt since the disastrous Chunnin exams in the Forest of Death.

"Sasori, you fool - how can you compare your ugly puppets to my art? Don't you realize that I am the artist who produces works which are fleeting, amazing and beautiful, each lasting for a moment of greatness?"

"Of course! Deidara-senpai has the best art! I'm so lucky to be his partner."

"Just shut up, both of you. I don't want to waste my breath on clowns who worship transient objects instead of realizing that true beauty comes from permanence. Come to think of it, why the hell did I join you two?"

"Because one of our members requested our help, and we are bound by our oath to comply. It is curious though, I sense more than one tailed beast here."

'Sasori, Deidara… both from the Akatsuki,' Jiraiya pondered. He couldn't recognize the identities of the other two voices, although one was high pitched and childish, while the other was deep and grave, and almost radiated authority. Either way, it meant that there were two more with them, which meant Jiraiya's worst fears had come to pass. Even he doubted that he and the other jounin could take five of them at the same time.

Reaching out to shield Naruto from the oncoming onslaught, he suddenly realized that there wasn't anybody near him. It was as if he was alone with the marshes and the swamp, with no escape ahead of him. Well, not really alone, because in no time, a thousand minute projectiles came charging at him from all directions. Blocking the barrage with a single swipe of his majestic white mane, Jiraiya pulled out a scroll, but paused before biting his thumb. He had to be sure before he took the plunge.

"You two aren't fooling anybody, y'know. Surely you know that it's bad manners to attack from behind."

"Sorry about that, old man" Deidara cackled, voice floating out uniformly around Jiraiya. "My art directs my actions."

"Jiraiya of the Sannin, huh?" Sasori muttered, "well, you have no choice but to play with us for a bit. "

* * *

There was a flash of lightning, and Naruto realized that something was not right with the surroundings. He was all alone, with no Ero-sennin, and two immensely tall individuals looming over him. One of them wore an oddly outfitted mask, with only a hole in its middle, while the other had swirling purple eyes which transfixed him to the spot in fear.

Pein turned to Tobi, and raised his eyebrows. Tobi instantly cowered, and with hurried whispers of "Yes, boss", went over to Naruto, who had managed to shake himself into a fighting pose.

Tobi raised his hands in mock surrender. "Hey, hey, kid, I'm not here to fight. We're not after you."

For the first time since they had come to Kumo, Naruto suddenly felt a deep unease, and he knew it was coming from Kurama. "Then what do you want? You're with Itachi, aren't you?"

"You could say that. But we don't want to hurt you. We want to help you," Tobi said in a soothing voice. "You know, the village will never accept a person like you as Hokage, not as long as you have that monster within you. Let us help you."

Naruto smiled. 'Training with Ero-sennin sorta' paid off, didn't it?' he thought proudly. He had been exposed to all sorts of persuasion techniques, and although he had hated all of the illusions Jiraiya had cast on him to dispel, he had to admit that they had a point. At least he had learnt to identify a genjutsu, even if he wasn't sure he could break it. Innocently, he looked back at Tobi, and asked, "so you want Kurama, huh?"

Tobi looked up at Pein triumphantly, and vigorously nodded his head. "Yes, we want to free you from the Kyuubi."

'It's ready, kit,' Kurama growled from within, even as Naruto could feel chakra bubbling up within him. 'Thanks, Kurama - you're full of surprises, y'know,' he smiled.

"Multi-shadow Clone Technique: Two Thousand Combo."

Instantly a thousand bodies, yelling either "U-ZU-MA-KI NA-RU-TO" or "KAI" descended on both Pein and Tobi, intending to pummel them with both fists, while at the same time breaking the genjutsu. To Naruto's surprise, however, the former immediately flickered away towards all of the clones, and raised his palm to face outwards, generating a devastating repulsive force and dispelling all of the clones in one stroke by blasting them away in all directions.

Pein sighed, and pointed his palm at the real Naruto, who was the only one who had dodged the full impact of his Shinra Tensei. "I'm not in a mood to play, jinchuuriki. Since you're playing hard to get, I'll show you true force. Now, there will be no escape."

Naruto closed his eyes, trying not to think of the pain which would inevitably arrive when the blow struck. A moment passed, but nothing happened - his defensive stance went unchallenged. Instead he heard a voice, one he had yearned to hear, but never expected for a long time to come.

"Dobe, get out of the way."

Opening his eyes, Naruto's eyes widened, and an exultant smile grew and eventually radiated from his face as he saw his former teammate grunt with exertion. The two Akatsuki members were more than fifty feet away, Tobi trying his best to help Pein up to his feet. The scenery around them was quickly changing, and as soon as the surroundings changed to a weird purplish hue, Sasuke sat down on the ground, panting. At least they now had time to recoup, if only for a few moments.

"TEME! WHERE DID YOU- WHY DID- ARE YOU-" Naruto yelled and fumbled in equal measure, unable to make up his mind on which question to ask. He leapt eagerly towards Sasuke, only to be stopped by a firm, feminine grip.

"Naruto - we'll explain everything later. For now, we need to escape."

"Sakura-chan! Oh, I'm so happy that you're safe, dattebayo! I swear, if those two bastards did anything to you-"

"Alright, we heard you, usuratonkachi," Sasuke muttered, placing his hand over Naruto's mouth and scanning the nearby marshes for Pein. He knew that the additional genjutsu layer he had placed over Tobi's illusion would be dismantled in a few seconds, and Pein would be livid after having his own Almighty Push redirected on himself. He needed to use this time to make sure that Naruto and Sakura were sent far away from the scene, using a Rinnegan portal. "Stand back, we don't have time," he ordered, stumbling forward a few steps, even as he concentrated chakra to open up a portal. To his dismay, however, his Rinnegan throbbed painfully, and he realized that Kurenai's bindings were interfering with the technique (and this interference seemed to be more pronounced due to a potential larger expenditure of chakra).

A blinding flash occurred above the three of them just then, and Tobi's laughter from the background told Sasuke that they were in hot water, far sooner than expected. And indeed, not two, but three Akatsuki loomed over the trio ominously. Pein was now flanked by Sasori and Deidara, who were looking slightly more irritated than usual, and leaking highly dangerous levels of KI.

"The brat doesn't take after Itachi, does he?" Sasori said, looking very annoyed.

"No way! At least Itachi had some appreciation for my art. On the other hand, an accomplice of Orochimaru can never comprehend the intent behind it."

Sasuke muttered under his breath, because objectively, Team 7 would be annihilated under these circumstances. He didn't have access to his Sharingan, which meant no Susanoo or Chidori. Naruto and Sakura were yet to discover their fullest potential and were barely above the level of the average chunin. From the little he had heard about Pein, the guy was a monster - with full control of the Rinnegan and unbelievable chakra reserves. A straight on confrontation was clearly going to be the mother of all unfair fights, so he had to think of another way.

"Dobe, can you use the wind cutter technique?"

For the first time, Naruto did not respond to the derogatory nickname. Instead, he smirked and nodded vigorously.

"Sakura, can you control your chakra flow during a Suiton jutsu?"

Sakura looked at him, confused. "Sure, Sasuke-kun, but what are you planning?"

Sasuke looked intently at both of them for a moment and tilted his head. "Just be sure to respond," he said cryptically. To their surprise, he then tossed a kunai towards Naruto (which Sakura realized was her kunai taken by him during their scuffle earlier), and flickered away towards the three Akatsuki.

"Katon: Great Fireball Technique"

A huge, smoldering orb of flames towered over the marshes, and the surrounding mist immediately started condensing upon the cooler, slushy waters of the marshes all around.

Deidara let out a cackle of exhilaration, while Sasori stood up straight, eyebrows raised in curiosity. Pein stood as still as a statue, as if in deep thought. When Deidara started making his own clay dolls to counterattack, Pein held up his hand, effectively blocking the explosive jutsu from proceeding.

"Stop, Deidara. Let us observe what they plan on doing. Sasuke Uchiha has caught my interest."

Naruto, who seemed aware of exactly what Sasuke was planning, immediately started the necessary hand seals. Jumping high into the air, he yelled, "Fuuton: Wind Cutter". Soon a gust of air stabbed through the ball of fire, temporarily reducing the intensity of the flames, but greatly increasing its size and coverage. The attack just needed the chakra moulded from the water droplets of the newly condensed mist, and the devastating smoke from the extinguished fireball would provide more than ample cover for their escape. Sasuke looked back, hoping Sakura could indeed pull off this delicate jutsu, but to his horror, glancing in her direction showed Sasori holding her by the throat, his poisonous scorpion-like tail hanging dangerously over her chest. A single strike, he knew, could very well be fatal.

Sakura was whimpering quietly, eyes closed in fear. Naruto, on seeing this, had immediately charged with a roar towards Sasori, ready to sacrifice himself to save Sakura. Just as he was about to reach her, however, a mighty slash cleaved through the bog on which Sasori stood. As it was aimed right at the hand holding Sakura, Sasori had no choice but hiss in annoyance as he relinquished his grip and leapt away in surprise. Sakura fell with a thud on the ground, moving weakly to get up, but to no avail. Naruto was instantly by her side, propping her up and checking her vitals.

Sasuke, on the other hand, had been thwarted by Deidara from even moving away from his spot, as a barrage of tiny clay missiles had instantly blown up the giant fireball and caused chunks of flames to completely surround him. It was looking increasingly dire for the trio, but a flash of powerful chakra caused a strange sensation in Sasuke's Rinnegan, far different from the usual throbbing he normally felt. He closed his eyes, praying against all hope that help was on its way. And as if timed perfectly by Kami, a voice answered his prayer.

"Hey, kid - I can take over now. Thanks for holding fort."

Sasuke jerked abruptly to look up, only to see a senjutsu-powered Jiraiya holding an enormous boulder with one hand above him. A trifecta of gigantic toads had already surrounded the three members of the Akatsuki. One of them had an enormous sword, which was most likely the source of that shockwave-inducing slash Sasori had dodged previously.

"I would advise you to leave quietly," Jiraiya's voice boomed, even as Pein looked sideways and nodded at Sasori and Deidara. Clearly that was wishful thinking on the Sannin's part, for almost immediately the three shinobi disappeared, and Pein appeared above them all. Sasuke looked in Jiraiya's direction for guidance, and the Toad Sage nodded gravely, mouthing the command to escape with both of his teammates. The plan wasn't perfect, but it was the only way to save Naruto from the Akatsuki's clutches.

What followed next was a series of explosive events, each of which could easily have destroyed the entirety of the Great Swamps if not for exactly calculated counterattacks. Two giant clay birds appeared with a snap of Deidara's fingers, and Sasori launched strings in all directions to form a protective cage around the two of them, even as the birds moved ever so slowly towards the frogs. Jiraiya grimaced, knowing the explosive potential of these objects, but he launched the huge boulder towards the top of the cage. Chokuto sparking with electricity, Sasuke leapt up to the height of the boulder, and with extreme swiftness and dexterity, sliced it into a thousand charged projectiles, each of which went raining down towards the giant birds, effectively sinking them on the spot.

But it looked like this was the moment Pein had been waiting for, because the Rinnegan flashed, and Naruto found himself being dragged up into the sky by an inexorable force. Sakura screamed in anguish, and Jiraiya roared in desperation, and Sasuke watched in slow motion as his best friend reached the same height as himself, en route to a certain demise. So he did the only thing his mind could conjure at that moment, even if he was unsure if he had the chakra to do so.

"Amenotejikara."

A solitary kunai fell on the bank of the marshes, and a lone Rinnegan with six tomoes stared in close proximity at its tomoeless counterparts. Pein's eyes widened in surprise as Sasuke, who had instantaneously appeared next to Naruto, grabbed and pushed the latter back to the ground next to Sakura, completely disregarding the effects of the Bansho Tenin.

"A Space-Time teleportation jutsu, huh?" Pein mused quietly. He looked down with an unreadable expression at the panting Sasuke. "Very interesting. Now tell me, Sasuke Uchiha, how long have you had that eye?"

"Long enough to cause you trouble," Sasuke answered, electricity sparking through his chokuto as he moved to a ready stance.

Pein smirked, but made no move to attack. "You're mistaken, if you actually believe that. The truth is that there will only be one God, and you cannot be that God, for you have neither received nor inflicted true pain," he said.

Sasuke smiled, and flickered towards Pein - only to be instantly repelled when he came closer than a foot to the latter. However, Sasuke's motive was not to attack, but to force the Akatsuki leader to cut a deal with him. "I don't care about the truth, Yahiko," Sasuke whispered, secretly relishing the way in which Pein flinched and drew back at his corpse's former name. He had to thank Naruto for the grandiose stories of Pein's defeat during his self-imposed house arrest, albeit from another life. "And neither do I want to be a God. Instead, I believe it would be advantageous for you to walk away without the Kyuubi, for two reasons."

Pein narrowed his eyes at Sasuke's abrasiveness, but did not stop the latter from speaking. Looking sideways, Sasuke saw Sasori and Deidara unsuccessfully launch a full-fledged assault on the Jiraiya and the Toads, who were doing a remarkable job protecting Sakura and Naruto from the onslaught. Feeling emboldened that the tide had slowly turned in their favor, Sasuke pressed on.

"Firstly, your primary concern, Yahiko, should be me. I know you thrive on the powers of your doujutsu, but I see that you can't use a vast majority of your powers without your fellow corpses. I, on the other hand, know about your every technique, and more importantly, can perform them without any hesitation." Sasuke paused for effect, and then taunted, "Looks like the intel sources you employ are not up to speed on the important issues, are they?"

Once again, silence ensued, and Pein looked slightly spooked by the extent of information Sasuke possessed. His killing aura seemed to be rising from frustration, so Sasuke hastened to complete his message.

"And secondly, your comrades have already accomplished your aim of capturing a Bijuu, so if you walk away now, you can walk away victorious. But if you go after the Kyuubi, I cannot guarantee that you will gain anything from the trip to these swamps."

Pein jerked around in surprise, only to see Tobi and Kisame standing over a heap of bodies, with an impaled Yugito. The fatally injured Two-Tailed jinchuuriki was murmuring in her final moments of consciousness, even as Matabi was leaking bluish chakra throughout her body in a hopeless attempt to revive her. A small but noticeable pang of sadness hit Sasuke's heart - after all, he had the (soon-to-be former) Kumo jounin to thank for helping locate Naruto in the first place, but he quickly pushed away those feelings when he heard Tobi's singsong voice.

"Hey, Deidara-senpai! Sasori-san! Pein-sama! Look at our catch today - aren't we lucky? It's not everyday that we run into two jinchuuriki, do we? Are you amazed, Deidara-senpai? I'm so happy - oh senpai, it's all because of your wonderful training that I was even able to do this."

"Shut your trap," Kisame growled. "Or I'll run you to the ground with this," he said, holding up the Samehada, as Tobi immediately cowered in fear. "What do we do with this?" he continued, looking at Pein.

"We follow the plan," Pein replied, appearing much more calmer than before. Kisame nodded, and Tobi instantly squealed with excitement. A spiralling void appeared, which appeared to suck the three of them into another dimension. But Tobi's lone visible Mangekyo swirled with malice as it focused intently on Sasuke, filling the latter with a sense of unease. This feeling was not because of the painful flashbacks Sasuke was having of the Fourth Shinobi War orchestrated by those swirling red eyes, but because he was sure Tobi was now going to target his Rinnegan for the Infinite Tsukuyomi plan. And in the mess of this new world, he wasn't sure if he actually could stop that attempt from being successful.

As Tobi vanished with Yugito, Sasuke stumbled in the mud, panting with exertion. Pein had a curious look in his eyes as he saw Sasuke's legs wobble slightly, but he nodded gravely and raised his hand, blowing a gust of wind as a signal to the two other Akatsuki members on the ground. "Let's continue this battle another day, Sasuke Uchiha. It's not my objective to cross paths with you today." Sasori and Deidara looked shocked, and stared at Pein mutinously for a few moments, but eventually both followed the latter's lead in flickering away deeper into the marshes. Just before vanishing, however, Pein called ominously, "I believe you are needed elsewhere, Uchiha. It is not just your eyes which can see beyond the present."

* * *

"Whew! We escaped from them, Sakura-chan," Naruto sighed, as he sat down flanked by his teammates on the river bank. Jiraiya had rushed up to the injured shinobi on the other side of the bank, and had found, to his great relief, that Kakashi and Asuma had sustained only minor injuries.

Meanwhile, Naruto was bombarding a worn out Sasuke with questions, most of which he did not have the will to answer. "Teme, what the hell were you doing with the weird-eyed guy? I couldn't see because the toads were blocking everything around me, dattebayo. And frankly, why is your left eye the same as that weird guy? Aw, c'mon teme, tell us! But I can't still believe that you helped us, dattebayo. After all this time, it means you always cared, right?"

"I think he does, Naruto," Sakura chimed in, with a tired smile, glancing over at Sasuke, who was sitting a little farther away, and looked to be in deep thought. The three of them could hear Jiraiya conversing with Kakashi, Asuma and all the rest of the living Kumo nin, when suddenly Sasuke stood up, looking almost alarmed.

"Hey teme! Where are you going?" Naruto yelled, his smile fading away as Sasuke prepared to shunshin away, his face scrunched up with worry.

"I have to go, dobe. Pein was right - there's a sinister presence nearby."

Naruto looked confused, but he suddenly straightened up. He turned in Sasuke's direction, but the latter was already gone.

"What is it, Naruto?" Sakura asked, with a concerned look on her face.

"The teme's right, Sakura-chan. Suddenly there are a lot of shinobi nearby," Naruto said thoughtfully, "and the strange thing is - they were not here even fifteen minutes ago."

* * *

_The Great Swamps, Kirigakure - amidst the marshes_

It was eerily quiet all around, and Kurenai was very surprised that Itachi had not made a single move out of his Amaterasu ring of fire. He just lay against the ground, hand clutching his chest. His blood red eyes looked vacant and listless, as if he had nothing left to show, and was waiting for somebody, or some event. Most of the Kumo nin, observing this, had gradually headed out in Kakashi's direction to help out in the site of the active battle. So when a legion of ROOT shinobi had come out of nowhere, yelling in-unit commands and charging towards their target, she had almost jumped out of her skin. A rough hand shoved her to the side, and restrained her hands with a harsh warning of "stay still if you want to live," even as a familiar voice addressed the rest of the men.

"Get that S-ranked nunekin from the circle, all of you, and you will have fulfilled one of your reasons for living."

To her shock, almost fifty men pounced on the black flames, forming a human bridge from outside the circle to within. Of course, those men instantly caught fire, and would definitely perish, but Kurenai was aghast and almost speechless with the fact that despite being burnt to a crisp, they had a sickly smile plastered on their face, as if proud of their role in the whole endeavor. The other shinobi on top of this 'bridge' moved inhumanly towards their target, not once stopping to consider the plight of their comrades. But the biggest surprise was the fact that Itachi had stood up, arms raised in surrender, as if almost resigned to his fate.

With a small smirk, which did little to hide the tiredness in his swirling Sharingan, he spoke softly but clearly, "it's very strange to see that you've finally come out of the shadows, Danzo. Usually it means that something has gone wrong with the plans you cooked up, but in these times, I'm not sure if that's the right thing to believe."`

Danzo tapped his cane thrice on the ground, and two ROOT shinobi immediately grabbed Itachi, dragged him out of the black flames in the same manner, and brought him face-to-face with the old, wrinkled and bandaged face of their leader.

"It doesn't matter what you believe any longer, Itachi Uchiha. What matters is whether you want an easy or painful death. And if you continue with that genjutsu of yours, I will be inclined towards the latter choice."

Kurenai blinked, and the image of Itachi in the clutches of the two ROOT soldiers immediately morphed into two men lying in a heap, groaning from the taijutsu-based blows a smirking Itachi had delivered to them. As soon as the illusion was dispelled, Itachi charged forward, hands moving in quick succession to kickstart an offensive jutsu.

"Suiton: Water Dragon Bullet"

Showing surprising alacrity for his age, Danzo started sidestepping the barrage of water projectiles and countered with an unspoken Fuuton attack, which slashed through the air surrounding Itachi. Once again, Itachi's image morphed into that of the surroundings, and a lone crow hovering nearby transformed back to the older Uchiha, who then started to redirect the water projectiles back in Danzo's direction.

Not able to react fast enough, Danzo hissed in pain as his bandaged right arm was unable to move out of the path of the redirected attack, but muttering curses, he leapt away from his spot to maintain distance from Itachi's attacking position. Two men from behind immediately ambushed Itachi with a Katon jutsu, and would have been successful, if not for the Sharingan. Itachi blitzed through the attacks of the two shinobi, making them crumple on the spot. Years of working under Danzo had made these maneuvers almost instinctive to him, and he was prepared for any dirty tricks Danzo might have up his sleeve.

Or so he thought. For Danzo raised his hand, and yelled at his men to get the 'package'. A group of ROOT Shibobi immediately appeared in a conical formation, one where they were all packed together in a tightly bound structure.

"Very good, Itachi. I must say, it's good to see that you've maintained, if not increased, your level of competence."

"I don't have time to play around Danzo. We both know that if you wanted me dead, you and your men would have tried much harder. So I'll ask you one more time, what is it that you really want?"

Danzo smiled, a smile which reeked of malicious intent. "Tut, tut, Itachi, you disappoint me. I have already asked you what I wanted - whether you want to die easily or painfully. But from your attitude, I have decided that it has to be the latter. Now, don't tell me I didn't give you the chance to fade away comfortably."

And with a swoosh of his robe, the men in the group unraveled their conical formation, and a badly beaten and bruised Sasuke was revealed to be in their midst, looking at Itachi balefully. With an awful feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach, Itachi furiously activated his Mangekyo, hoping against hope that this was a genjutsu, but it most certainly wasn't. It was the real Sasuke, and one of the shinobi in the group was in the process of taking a kunai and stabbing Sasuke's abdomen. Suddenly Itachi felt an acute form of breathlessness, and even as he buckled over to catch his breath, he saw another ROOT shinobi blow a fire-based jutsu at him. To his surprise, Sasuke's Rinnegan flashed, and he was flung out of harm's way, although his hand was slightly singed in the process.

Danzo's smile widened. "Now, Itachi, since you are reunited with your little brother, what are you going to do?"

* * *

_The Forest of Death, Konohagukare_

As a jounin, Tsunade had traversed the terrain in the Forest of Death more times than she could count. It had always been one of the more secluded spots for her to train, and had a vast trove of medicinal herbs which one would not expect in a tropical forest so close to human habitation. It was one of the few places that gave her inner peace. As a shinobi with very few, if any, skills left to perfect, she had come to value places where she could stay outside the mundane matters of the village and instead improve her peace of mind by reminiscing about the people close to her heart - Dan, her former team, and her late sensei. Maybe it was one of the reasons she had left the village in favor of her wanderings (of course, the prospect of new gambling dens also played its due part in that decision).

But in all of her experience with the surroundings around her, she had never seen a place as eerie and sinister as the makeshift structure in front of her. The entrance was akin to the gaping mouth of a huge snake, while the dimly lit passageways inside were adorned with snake murals. Carvings on the wall praised the Snake God in the Ryuchi Cave, and the intricate side passages were emblematic of the famous "Serpent maze". If not for Kabuto, who was leading them nimbly and surely to his boss, she and her core team of two ANBU bodyguards and Shizune would most certainly have lost their way. Tsunade looked around warily, trying to gauge if there were any traps or tricks Orochimaru had laid out for them. But to her surprise, she could not find anything. Obviously, the structure had been hastily set up not too long ago, and the place reeked of Orochimaru's experiments, but the fact that she couldn't sense his virulent chakra meant something was off about this excursion.

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Tsunade suddenly stopped at a highly fortified entrance blocking one of the side tunnels. Kabuto instantly turned around and silkily spoke, "Tsunade-sama, we need to keep moving. My boss will soon lose his patience if we dilly-dally."

Not dignifying Kabuto's words with an immediate response, Tsunade quietly walked upto the entrance, green chakra glowing in her hand. Her famous instincts for perceiving peril were going crazy, and the entrance in front of her was radiating danger signals she could not ignore. As expected, a slight knock on the stone blocks covering the entrance revealed that they were hollow. Turning around in Kabuto's direction, she asked slowly, "that depends if you are telling the truth. What's behind this entrance?"

Kabuto gave a smirk. "My dear Tsunade-sama, surely you know that if my boss has requested me to escort you to him, that's all I'm going to do. Now, if you will - oof!"

Tsunade had raised her hand, and without warning, Shizune had pounced on Kabuto, knocking him out with a well aimed chop at his pressure points. Tsunade calmly walked to the entrance and prepared an attack to blast open the fortifications.

"Stand back you guys, and be ready for an ambush. We're going in," she ordered sharply, before muttering "Doton: Earth divide."

Instantly the boulder in front cracked and disintegrated, leaving behind a gaping hole. To her mild surprise, nobody emerged, so she motioned for the group to enter. Her ANBU guards instantly took the lead, holding lamps to light the way for Shizune and her mentor, but almost immediately stopped, because a gust of cold air extinguished their lights.

"My, my, Tsunade - very perceptive, aren't we?" Orochimaru's snake-like voice wafted throughout the passage. "Couldn't you just follow Kabuto to the waiting room? I promise you, that room was quite pretty, and much to your taste."

Tsunade had prepared herself to be calm in Orochimaru's presence, but his deceptive and falsely strung tone invariably raised her hackles, and she was struggling to maintain her cool and prevent any anger from seeping into her voice.

"What did you want to discuss, Orochimaru?"

"Ah, of course, always getting to the point, aren't we? I am curious, however - is there a reason you haven't yet destroyed the whole structure to find and kill me?"

It was hard to see anything in the darkness, but Tsunade stepped forward boldly, and smirked to herself. "I could ask you the same question."

There was a pause, which was followed by a shrill, almost scream-like laughter which rang all throughout the room. When it eventually subsided, there was a flash of light, and a large white spherical object dropped down in front of Tsunade. It rapidly uncoiled to form a huge snake-like figure, at least seven feet tall, with a face that vaguely resembled Orochimaru's. The creature gave an appraising look at the four shinobi, and shook its head.

"Everything in due time, my dear Tsunade. Now, how is Konoha doing? Are you all enjoying this era of peace and prosperity?"

Tsunade was silent, internally seething at the nerve Orochimaru (one of the biggest threats to this peace) had to talk in this manner, but Shizune's sneeze broke the tension, even as another gust of ice-cold air hit the four Konoha shinobi. Orochimaru looked with mock concern in her direction, and spoke with another grin. "I see your shinobi are not able to handle the surroundings, Tsunade. Maybe I can help you all with some lights and warmth."

Tsunade jerked slightly, a curious look on her eyes, even as the huge snake swept over the passageway. Almost immediately the lamps on the wall were lit with a blinding white light, and it seemed that their intensity was only increasing. Shielding her eyes, Tsunade yelled, "Shizune! Take those two and escape this room. And move with haste!"

"But Tsunade-sama-" Shizune whispered, her hands shaking, as an unbelievably harsh wave of killing intent hit the group.

"There's no time. JUST GO!" Tsunade roared, as more than a hundred poisonous snakes dropped from the recently illuminated ceilings. Shizune grabbed the transfixed ANBU, and swerved away from the bites of more than a dozen snakes. But escaping the clutches of so many snakes in such a narrow passageway was well-nigh impossible, and she soon found herself swarmed by snakes. Steeling herself for bite attacks, Shizune gathered chakra in her hands - the best way to avoid physical attacks was always to counterattack with physical techniques. The KI intensity from Orochimaru had not wavered at all, and the snakes immediately attacked en masse. Just as she was about to meet their fangs with a bone shattering fist, she was shocked to see that the snakes did not have any mouths. Instead they became instantly rigid and embedded themselves into the front of her body, as if they were sharp spears. Pain coursed through her veins, and she fell to her knees, coughing up a pool of blood. The ANBU, likewise, stood no chance, and crumpled under the onslaught.

Clap, clap, clap….

The snake-like Orochimaru clapped gleefully, even as Tsunade unsuccessfully tried to break down the layer barrier created by the snakes separating her from Shizune. "My, my, look at you, a Kage - but unable to take care of a few snakes scared by the light. You're truly pathetic, Hokage."

Tsunade slowly stopped blasting apart snakes and turned around to face Orochimaru's figure.

"The light, huh? What did you want to do with it - light your birthday cake?"

Orochimaru's smile widened, and he slowly morphed into a human-like figure, who seemed to be equipped with a large, bendable and flat-headed sword. "Not at all, Hokage, I'm just lighting up your funeral."

Tsunade grimaced, and in the blink of an eyelash, kunai collided with sword, setting up a deafening clang, and both shinobi leapt back after minutes of being unable to overpower the other. The scenery immediately changed back to a dark cave in the Forest of Death, and the numerous "snakes" turned into a pile of sharp black rods.

The Hokage smirked. So it was a genjutsu after all, as she had anticipated. Orochimaru despised light, and would never use a light-based attack, so that minor error had instantly alerted Tsunade to the fact that she was dealing with an imposter. But the upward tilt of her lips slowly faded as she saw her opponent. For in front of her was a kunoichi wearing a headband from Amegakure, whose hair was arranged in a sort of onion-like bun, but had spikes of hair splayed out waywardly on either side. She was outfitted in the infamous Akatsuki black and red robes, and her face graced a frightening pattern of rod-like chakra receivers: one above the nose, two on either side of the neck, and a row of three vertically down each cheek. But what unsettled Tsunade the most was the glowing purple ripple-like pattern in her eyes, which appeared to be boring into her very soul.

Chikushudo, who in her living past had been an Ame nin called Ajisai, raised her palm upwards, and a small chakra ball emerged, illuminating the surroundings slightly. "Finally you act like a Kage. How obvious did you want us to be before you became aware of our little act?" she murmured softly. Tsunade, who had taken a fighting stance to attack, stopped herself and looked back at the Rinnegan user.

"That might be wise, Hokage. It always pays to know the full extent of your troubles before you take the plunge, doesn't it? Surely a gambler like yourself is familiar with that notion."

Tsunade smirked, and was about to taunt her back with a scathing retort, when she suddenly felt her throat dry up in horror. Shizune and her two ANBU were propped up against the wall by two other shinobi with purple eyes, with more than six rods jutting out of each of their sternums. All three of them seemed to have lost their consciousness, but Tsunade could feel some of their chakra signatures, which made her heave a sigh of relief.

However, the sense of foreboding soon crept back to her when she turned sideways, and saw a person slumped against the mouth of the cave. Moving slightly closer to identify the victim, Tsunade took a sharp intake of air. Because the plain grey kimono, the thick purple belt, the pale skin and the unseeing golden slitted eyes all pointed to the real Orochimaru, but the current status of the body was crystal clear - it was a corpse. The unnatural angle at which he was hunched indicated rigor mortis, while the shrivelled skin meant that he had died most likely due to excessive blood loss.

Tsunade took a large gulp of air to calm herself, because even though she had wished death on her former teammate ever so often, she had never imagined she would be witness to such a terrible execution. The fact that he was a fellow Sannin had always made her assume that either Jiraiya or herself would be the one to defeat him, even kill him if necessary. But she had never given the end result of her feud with Orochimaru much thought, and the fact that he was right there, murdered in such a painful and torturous manner, made her almost retch out in revulsion. It also made her keenly aware that she was facing a life-or-death situation with the three shinobi in front of her, and she would need to dig deep into the twenty-five year old battle experience to have any chance of escaping alive.

Gakido and Shurado stepped forward, joining Chikushudo in her confrontation with Tsunade, and the three of them smirked at each other.

"Hmm, it looks like you've met your old friend, haven't you, Hokage?" Gakido asked.

"It truly is a pity he betrayed us," Shurado countered, even as he conjured up the huge folding flat headed sword again.

"Enough! That information is irrelevant to you, Hokage. What matters here is that we were not joking before, as our orders are to indeed light up your funeral," Chikushudo concluded, summoning up a huge three-headed dog summon from out of nowhere. "So get ready - for this is but a small sample of what is to come."

Adrenaline was coursing through Tsunade's veins, and Orochimaru's final message on the scroll was ringing in her ears. She knew she had to escape, but she also needed a hint of what was to come in the future to have a chance at protecting Konoha. So she created a half-dozen shadow clones to surround the three enemies, and began charging up a devastating Earth-Water jutsu combo. She had observed that the three nin in front of her barely ever reacted against any of her attacks, and she planned to use this complacency to the fullest. As she became ready to land a lethal blow on them from two different angles, she couldn't help but ask out aloud, "what did you mean that this is a small sample of things to come?"

The three paths of Pain smiled back almost identically, having not moved an inch throughout her attack preparation. But they suddenly flickered away at unbelievable speeds, and Tsunade could only watch as Gakido appeared in front of every single clone and seemingly absorbed all of the chakra they had gathered. Shurado appeared just behind the original with a fearsome look in his eyes, sword raised like an executioner's blade. Tsunade tilted her head in a hopeless attempt to dodge the blow, but the final thing she heard before darkness overtook her was a dire warning from Chikushudo:

"It means that we have not forgotten Yahiko's pain at the hand of your shinobi. And Konoha shall know true pain soon enough."

* * *

_The Great Swamps, Kirigakure - amidst the marshes_

"I am the bigger threat, Danzo," Itachi said quietly, even as he nursed his singed hand. "And I promise you, it's my aim to finish you off today."

Ignoring the taunt, Danzo gestured a wave, and more than a hundred shinobi descended on the injured Uchiha, pinning him in a kneeling position.

"Ah, my dear Itachi. I wish I could believe that, but unfortunately, it seems that you have outlived your usefulness. You're no longer important enough to be listened to," Danzo said nonchalantly. Brandishing his kunai in his uninjured hand, he raised it like an executioner's axe over Itachi's head, but Itachi gave a smirk, because he had one last burst of chakra for the Susanoo. Maybe it would be enough to end the old man's evil once and for all. But to his utter shock, he heard Danzo whisper, "Now watch what I do," even as he seemingly teleported over to Sasuke, who was on his knees at the center of a ring of ROOT shinobi, trying to gather some strength to repel all of their ninjutsu attacks. Itachi gave a roar of despair, and Sasuke's eyes witnessed something he would never have imagined possible.

"Sasuke Uchiha - this is your execution," Danzo shouted, arm raised and ready to strike. The kunai met its target, pierced right through the heart, and blood splattered all around Sasuke. Sasuke closed his eyes, ready to fade into the sweet release of death, but after a few moments, he realized that he had not been struck. He opened his eyes slowly, and the sight in front of him instantly froze his body with shock, even as his instincts screamed in the most primal way possible. For Itachi Uchiha had intercepted Danzo's strike, and Sasuke watched with painstaking detail the manner in which Itachi's brows crunched up in pain as the kunai's tip jutted out of his chest.

"Stop it," muttered Sasuke, his mind numb, as Itachi coughed up a mouthful of blood on Sasuke's cloak. The kunai tip did not move, and his head was swimming from an overload of emotions. A familiar, virulent rage started swirling within, and this anger, which in truth had been pent up ever since his final battle at the Fourth Shinobi War, burst forth like a dam which had been opened.

"STOP IT!" he roared out much louder, as his hand aimlessly gripped his brother's waist, dripping in blood and dirt. His voice shook with emotion, but he kept his eyes on Itachi - trying, straining them to see for any signs of life from the crumpled up figure leaning against him.

His vision had suddenly become crystal clear, and as fresh blood dripped from his newly reactivated Mangekyo, he realized that he had somehow broken free from Kurenai's seal. Every crease on Itachi's face looked even more pronounced, even as his slumped figure looked eerily familiar to Sasuke's guts. It was the same figure which had smiled and poked his head at the end of their final battle, the same figure which had embraced him and confided that he would always love his younger brother, no matter what. And it was the same figure who had been murdered twice, each time to protect a village which gave him nothing but betrayal. Sasuke closed his eyes, stifling a sob, and prayed to Kami that his life too would be taken soon after, for he no longer retained the desire to fight in this world.

Seeing that Itachi had thrown himself in front of his real target, Danzo immediately started taking out the kunai to relaunch the attack on the younger Uchiha, but to his surprise, a hand slapped his wrist away, and Sakura threw herself in front of the two Uchihas, ready with a defensive stance. She gave a piercing gaze in Danzo's direction, as if daring him to attack. "You can't kill Sasuke-kun, and if you want to, you'll have to go through both of us".

Danzo looked across sideways, and saw that he had been surrounded by more than fifty Naruto clones, each of whose eyes were fiery with rage and fury. "Get away from Sasuke, you bastard," Naruto snarled, even as a deep red chakra began leaking out of him. The Kyuubi was slowly taking over, Sasuke's mind realized, but his body remained as still as a statue, intent on not doing anything more for anybody. His world now just included Itachi and himself, and to his utter relief, his aniki was stirring ever so faintly.

"It's ok, otouto" Itachi rasped, even as he took large gulps of air, even as Sasuke instantly laid him down gently and started making a futile attempt to transfer chakra. "The road of life has finally caught up with my sins."

"No, aniki," Sasuke whispered brokenly. "This was not supposed to happen - I can't live through this again. I can save you, just give me a little more time."

Itachi smiled, one of the most purest and truest expressions Sasuke had seen on his brother's face. "Ah - is that what you really want, Sasuke? To save me after all I have done?"

Sasuke remained silent, but nodded, eyes full of determination, and perhaps a glimmer of hope. His Rinnegan could still feel a sizable amount of chakra inside Itachi. Maybe the worst would not come to pass. He started gathering chakra, and closed his Rinnegan to prepare for the life-returning jutsu he had learnt it could perform.

To his surprise, Itachi's face became serious as he gripped his brother's hand. "Don't try it, otouto, if you are trying what I think you are. It won't work in my current state, and I don't deserve it. Besides, the Ides of March calls, little brother - they all beckon me in the next world," he breathed out shakily, even as Sasuke could feel the chakra within his brother slowly dissipate. It just occurred to Sasuke then that they were in a Tsukuyomi-like genjutsu, because the static surroundings were flickering with a reduction in Itachi's chakra, as if time badly wanted to regain its normal flow. His mind was panicking, because his body was no longer responding to any of its commands to help his withering older brother. But Itachi was not done yet, and there was a final, abnormal blaze of chakra from the elder Uchiha as he almost miraculously stood up, holding on to Sasuke for support.

"Hey otouto, there's no use in worrying about me anymore," Itachi spoke with unnatural clarity, even as he seemed as light as a feather while leaning onto Sasuke. "Look towards the future, little brother - the new fate of the Uchiha clan lies in your hands, and you have grown strong. Stronger than I ever imagined possible. But," he paused, and looked with piercing sharpness into Sasuke's eyes. "I have a final warning for you, otouto, if you'll care to listen."

"Nothing is final, aniki. I told you that you won't die today."

Itachi's chakra suddenly dropped, and he fell onto his knees, panting heavily. Sasuke instantly reached out to him, hoping to catch him and slowly lower him to the ground. But Itachi pushed him aside, and forged ahead as if nothing had happened. "Listen carefully, little brother, as I'm on borrowed time. From when we last met, I realized something very important."

Sasuke once again tried to support Itachi, and this time, the latter limply fell into his arms. Encouraged, he held his brother tightly, once again, trying to set up the Rinne rebirth technique - but he soon realized that his chakra reserves were nowhere near enough to pull it off successfully. Itachi looked like he was slowly losing consciousness, so Sasuke desperately shook him. "Stay with me, aniki. Please. You were telling me something important - what was it?"

Once again, Itachi smiled, and Sasuke stood still, shocked by his brother's unnatural resilience to a nearly non-existent chakra reserves. After another bloody coughing fit, Itachi looked up, a pained expression on his face. "Otouto," he rasped, "even if you don't realize it, you possess the power to destroy the world. But I implore you - don't use it, because great power brings great misery. Do you understand?"

The genjutsu slowly began to give way, and a lone tear fell on the ground beneath the two brothers. To Sasuke's shock, it was from Itachi, who was defying life itself by trying to stand up again, right hand lifted to poke his brother's forehead for one last time.

"You can't die, I won't forgive..." Sasuke choked out, but Itachi shushed him, a peaceful, almost beatific expression on his face.

"Peace is a day-to-day problem, little brother - the product of a multitude of events and judgements. Don't be as foolish as me to think one person can enforce it," the elder Uchiha whispered, as he stumbled forward, and fell face first on the ground in front of Sasuke, blood splattering everywhere around him. "I take my leave, otouto. Till next time." And just like that, the world was deprived of the penultimate Uchiha, on the very anniversary of the the clan's massacre.

The Tsukuyomi snapped, and the surroundings returned to screams, cries and chaos, but to Sasuke none of that mattered. The hundreds of ROOT soldiers and Kumo nin surrounding him, the retreating Akatsuki, Danzo, the Konoha jounin and even Naruto and Sakura - he found that he did not care for any of them any longer. The world had wrongly murdered his brother once again, and all rational thoughts and feelings of atonement went out of the window. The Mangekyo throbbed in anticipation of vengeance, and he found that he could no longer control the familiar bubbling of anger and revenge from spilling over.

*****And that's a wrap! I was thinking of when this chapter would end - and it finally finished a couple of hours ago, being thrice the usual length (over 13k words!) and having taken twice the time to write. As you can see, I don't really enjoy writing fight scenes, so I wanted to finish the majority of it in this one chapter - and you also can see that I have no qualms in killing off characters. I originally intended for Itachi to survive, but it didn't mesh well with the flow of the story - Sasuke has to lose his way for a bit, and this will serve as a powerful reminder that the Rinnegan is only so good as the abilities and stamina of its user.**

**I was also thinking of breaking up this story into 3 books - "Aggrievement", "Enlightenment" and "Acceptance", which will make this chapter the penultimate one in the first book. Of course, now I have no idea by when I will be able to finish the last chapter of this book - what with grad school starting in a couple of weeks, and the fact that I have to move my stuff to another city amidst this pandemic. So till next time, hope you guys stay safe and well! *****


	12. Update

Sorry I haven't been updating for the last 2 months - its been hectic with moving and starting a PhD program. But I'll post a chapter shortly, which will conclude this book (part 1 of 3) - thanks for all of your patience!


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